Bout of Books - Book Spine Poetry Winner

Thank you to all the entered the Book Spine Poetry Challenge for the Bout of Books Read-a-thon hosted by Amanda at On a Book Bender. There were 11 entries and the winner was randomly selected. Here is the winning Book Spine Poem:

submitted by Kelly at Reading the Paranormal. Kelly has won $20.00 in books from B&N.com!!

Congratulations Kelly!

October RAK Wrap-Up

October went by so fast, too fast I must say. It was a great month for reading and receiving some wonderful Random Acts of Kindness. Thank you to all of the bloggers and readers who participate in this fun bookswapping, gift-giving program. I love being a part of this bookish community. I also want to thank Vanessa and Isalys of Books Soulmates for coordinating and hosting.

I received:

Thank you so much!!

The Girls of Baxter Academy (e-book) from Jenn at Waiting on Sunday to Drown

Amber at The Musings of ALMYBNENR - Faking It (e-book)

Rain Maiden Jen - Playing Hurt

**RAK UPDATE**

I received one more RAK after I posted this on Sunday. On Halloween, I came home to a treat and no tricks!! Alyssa @ The Reader's Refuge gave me

I sent:

Meghan Books and Tea - The Lovely Books* and The Notebook*
Jenny @ Mimosa Stimulus  - Dairy Queens
Rain Maiden Jen - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and some gum (new not chewed, lol)
Alyssa @ The Reader's Refuge - My Sister's Keeper*
Jenn at Waiting on Sunday to Drown - Lucky* and The Witches of Santa Anna 

I made an effort to not spend too much money on RAKs this month. I planned to send 3 (new) books out this month (trying to maintain a budget), but I had many of these books on my shelves* and wanted to pass them along. So I did buy only 3 books (Kindle "give as gift" makes it too easy), and that goal was met.

I didn't plan to sign up in next month since I declared it "No Book Buying November" but I am going to sign up in hopes that I can pass along more books that are already on my shelves.

I'd love to know what books you received as RAK. Please leave a comment and I will check them out.





 

Love Your Independent Bookstore? Tell Me about It

button by Ginger at GReads!

 Love My Indie is where authors, bloggers and readers share their favorite independent bookstores. Check out some past posts HERE.

I don't have a Love My Indie scheduled for this week but more are on the way! I'm always looking for bloggers, authors and readers who want to provide a guest post. If you are interested, just fill out the form below! I look forward to hearing from you and learning about your favorite independent bookstores.

Bout of Books Day 3 - Challenge and Giveaway

 Day 3

It's Day Three of the Bout of Books Read-a-thon and I'm so happy that you've stopped by. What's going on today:

Read-a-thon Recap link-up

Book Spine Poetry Challenge

Particihost Giveaway at penny-laine (this is a one day only contest so enter today)

Twitter Chat Tonight 8-9pm EST - use #boutofbooks

Recap
Day 2 wasn't the greatest for me. As I was running out the door, late for work (as always), I grabbed my phone and the nearest book and ran out the door. On my way to work I realized that I grabbed the book I had finished the night before. Now I didn't have a book to read during my lunch hour, not only was this a pretty lame as I announced on Titter, but as Reading Angel pointed out "That was a serious #boutofbooks fail!! And a general reading fail all together! I hate not having a book...lol" Thanks for that! I did find another book to read from my department's Reading Room, so not all was lost and the end of day 2, I have read 2 books and am starting my third (the book I that I meant to grab when running out the door!)

I'd like to know how everyone else is doing, so if you are updating, please fill out the form below and provide a direct blog/twitter link and I will stop by to comment and cheer you on!



Challenge
I know some of you are looking for my challenge and here it is:

Book Spine Poetry

create a poem using the spines of your books

e-book readers, don't fret, you can still enter

Guidelines

Must include at least 3 books/titles

submit an original poem (please do not copy from another site)

if you can, you may add extra words to the photo/poem

How to Enter:

Take a picture of your Book Spine Poem and post it to your blog or twitter, then leave a link in the comments here

OR

If you are not posting on a blog or twitter or are reading e-books, write your poem in the comments 

The Prize:

Book or books of Your Choice Valued up to $20.00 from the Book Depository or B&N.com

Contest Rules:

Must be 13 or older to enter

Must have signed up for the Bout of Books 2.0 Read-a-thon

(sign up here)

(the Master List will be checked)

One entry per person

Open to US and International

Ends Oct 30th 11:59 PM EST

One Winner will be selected randomly from all qualifying entries and announced on the blog.

Here is my Book Spine Poem

NOW Don't forget to stop by penny-laine and enter the

Halloween-Themed giveaway!!

Twitter Chat Tonight!! 8-9pm #boutofbooks

Bout of Books 2.0

 
The Bout of Books Read-a-thon starts tomorrow and I am pumped up!! This go-around I am a co-host for an entire day. So make sure to stop by my blog on Wednesday for the challenge or meet up with me (@ActinUpwb) for the Twitter chat at 8pm EST.

Here are some reminders from Amanda, read-a-thon organizer, at On a Book Bender:

Quick Reminders

• Sign up! I will leave sign-up open through Friday 10/28.
• You must be signed up and on the Master List to qualify for challenge prizes.  Co-hosts will check the list to verify.
• Check out the Bout of Books schedule
• Say hi to other Bout of Books readers.
• Find Bout of Books participants on Twitter (and yes, this time it DOES include me).
• See what everyone is tweeting.  Use #boutofbooks in your tweets.
• Look for a wrap up post (and survey; we want to know what worked or didn’t) here at On a Book Bender on Monday, 10/31
• If you choose to have a starting line post with goals, please PLEASE include how much you intend to read.  Not everyone can read the entire week, so it is helpful to know when (or how much) you can read.
• Submit a link to your starting line post at the end of this post.
• And most importantly: HAVE  FUN.

Time Devoted to Reading
Read some every day 

My Goals

• read more books than during the last Bout of Books read-a-thon - so at least 5 books
• comment/converse more with bloggers/readers
• participate in more challenges
• Have a good time!

Books To Read

This time I'm not listing specific titles that I plan to read because, like with everything, I like to keep my options open, but I do plan to read:

• One book recommended to me
• One book gifted to me
• One book I won from a giveaway
• One e-book
• One book for review
• One book that will fulfill one of the year-long challenges I signed up for 

I will update mainly on Twitter at @ActinUpwb and will complete a final read-a-thon update at the end of the week. I hope to meet some new readers and discover some new books along the way.

Dewey's Read-a-thon Wrap-Up

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? - I took an extended break for 7 hours which I thought would only be 4 or 5 at the most and that hour coming back was the hardest. I tried to catch up on any challenges that were still ongoing and I wanted to read the posts for the hours I missed.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I like novels in verse and you can read through them fairly quick. The third book I selected, Song of the Sparrow, is a novel in verse and once I got over my "return to the readathon" delay, it was quick reading from there. (well until I fell asleep) Some other novels in verse I would suggest are any ya book my Lisa Schroeder - The Day Before, Far from You, Chasing Brooklyn and I Heart You, You Haunt Me.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? For myself, I just need to decide to join earlier and clear my schedule. Some suggestions overall - some of the challenges took a while to complete and you quickly realize that 45 minutes of reading time have passed. The challenges are a choice and you don't have to participate, but that are a lot of fun. So maybe have a few more challenges that are easy to participate in would be my suggestion.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I liked the consistent format of the hourly updates which listed the random winners, the ongoing challenges and the links to the newest challenges.
   
5. How many books did you read? I completed 2 books and started a third book and read a total of 556 pages. My total reading time ended up being only 7 of the 24. But I might not have read that much otherwise because I wasn't even planning to join, so Go Me!!!
   
6. What were the names of the books you read? I read Every You, Every Me by David Levithan, Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur and I started Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell.
   
7. Which book did you enjoy most? Of these I like Every You, Every Me by David Levithan - It took me by surprise because it wasn't what I was expecting at all and that is exactly why I liked it.
8. Which did you enjoy least? I liked all the books I read.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't a cheerleader btu I did like receiving the blog comments and tweets along the way!
   
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will definitely participate in the next read-a-thon as a reader. This was a lot of fun, the fast paced reading, challenges and connecting with so many other readers. I'll just make sure to clear my schedule for a full day of reading!

Hour 16 Read-a-thon Challenge

This is the 3rd mini-challenge of the Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. The Bluestocking Society is hosting this challenge about re-reading.

I decided that I wouldn't do any rereading during this read-a-thon because I will be participating in another read-a-thon in November that will only be rereads. I don't reread too many books but when I do, they are books that make me feel good, are good for a few laughs, or they take me back to how I felt when I first read them. Some favorites are Second Helping and Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty. I do plan to reread Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, both by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, by the end of the year. Those books, both set in NYC, make me laugh and are filled with characters that I love.

Character Photo Mini Challenge

I am participating in At Home with Books's Character Photo Mini Challenge for the Dewey 24-Hour Read-a-thon:

The first book I read was Chasing Boys by Karen Fleur. Part of the storyline includes a class project that El, Dylan and their bossy classmate Sarah must complete. It is a project that they all reluctantly complete together, but the scenes involving the class project also help to develop the friendship between El and Dylan.

In my picture I included the clicker counter and clipboard for El and Dylan and the camera for Sarah because she claims she is more creative and terrible at statistics.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

Yesterday I decided to join Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. This is my first time participating in Dewey's Read-a-thon or any 24 hour read-a-thon.

My goal is to read from 7:30am to 3:30pm  with a few 15 minutes breaks. I have an event to attend from 4:30pm to 9pm (hence my late decision to decide to join). Once the event is over, I plan to keep reading until my eyes can no longer stay open.

Books to be read:

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur

Beautiful by Amy Reed

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan

I plan to participate in some challenges and cheer the other participants along. Good luck to all of the others who join. Now it's time to start reading!

Read-a-thons Galore

There are several read-a-thons happening this weekend starting with the Wonderfully Wicked Read-a-thon hosted by My Shelf Confessions and Kindle Your Reading Fever. This read-a-thon begins today and ends on October 23. There are challenges and giveaways all weekend long.

Another read-a-thon happening this weekend is Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon I've noticed that many bloggers and readers are participating in this popular read-a-thon. This read-a-thon is on October 22nd. And as I am typing this up, I just decided to join! I wasn't planning to because I have several things planned this weekend, but what the heck I can squeeze in some reading time and cheer some people along!!

And if your eyes aren't too tired or you are on a roll and just want to read, read, read, there is also the Bout of Books Read-a-thon hosted by On a Book Bender This is a week-long, low pressure read-a-thon filled with Challenges and Giveaways which starts on October 24th.  I am definitely participating in this one because I Am a Co-Host!

Want to sign up for the Bout of Books Read-a-thon? You can do that here.

You can also:
Check out other Bout of Books readers.
Find out what people are tweeting about #boutofbooks
Discover other #boutofbooks participants on Twitter.

Sign-ups for all of these read-a-thons are still open. Please visit the hosting sites for more information.

Good luck!!

Waiting on Wednesday - Never Enough

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Never Enough

by Denise Jaden

Published by Simon Pulse

Publication Date July 2012

Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special…even if that means betraying her sister.

But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship—and her sister—before it’s too late? (from Goodreads)
  
Denise Jaden just revealed the cover of her new book and after reading the description, I just knew this was a book that I had to read. Losing Faith, Jaden's debut novel, was a wonderful read and I'm looking forward to reading more stories about sisters.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Read because of their Covers/Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists. I am too so that is why I am participating this week.

Books I Bought because of the Cover or Title

1. Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick

2. You Remind Me of You by Eireann Corrigan

3. Doing It by Melvin Burgess

4. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

5. I Know It's Over by c.k. kelly martin

6. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

7. Youth In Revolt - by C.D. Payne - I still have not read this one and I don't know if I ever will.

Put summer in the title, or a beach or lake on the cover and it's mine!

8. The Summer of Naked Swim Parties by Jessica Anya Blau

9. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

10. The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells