#15 !!!!

CMash December 24, 2010 4 Comments

IT’S

I CAN’T

ANOTHER CHALLENGE

Hosted by Teddy of So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Challenge Rules:
I hope all of you ARC Readers will join me again in 2011 for the ARC Reading Challenge. I welcome old and new participants. I don’t know about you, but my ARC pile is way too big. That is why I am making one big change to this challenge. For 2011 you don’t have to list all of the ARCs that you have. That’s right, no more “wall of shame.” LOL! Although you can list them if you want to.
Note: I use the term “ARC” loosely,any book a publisher or author gives you with the expectation that you review it, counts for this challenge.
The Levels
*Level Bronze: .a. All of us who have or will have less than 12 ARCS must read all of the ARCS we have. Note, that if you have 11 ARC’s and then receive a 12th one you will be bumped up to catagory b.
b. All of us who have or will have 12 or more than 12 ARCS must read and review at least 12.
*Level Silver: Read 24 ARCS
*Level Gold: Read 25 ARCS (I chose this level)
*Level Platinum: Read 30 or more ARCS
Rules:
*To sign up, leave a direct link to your blog post about this challenge. Please leave a comment as well.
*You don’t have to make a list of which ARC’s you plan to read, but you can if you want.
*If you choose a lower level, you can always change it to a higher level if you like. However, you cannot go from a higher level back down to a lower level.
*Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and Audio-books and ebooks are allowed as long as they are ARC’s.
*Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.
*Please subscribe to my blog, as I will be doing a monthly post with MR Linky. Please add your reviews for each month in MR Linky in the monthly post. For your Name, please use this format Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author’s Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader). Please be sure to use the direct link to your review, not just to your blog. Then please leave a comment.

Are you signing up?

Friday Memes

Friday

CMash December 24, 2010 10 Comments

FRIDAY

Hosted by An Island Life

From An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

My Question:

What are you hoping Santa leaves you?

My Answer:

My dated Hallmark ornament and anything to do with books.

Hosted by Java from Never Growing Old

From Java’s blog:
Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!

2011 Challenges

#15 !!!!

CMash December 24, 2010 4 Comments

IT’S

I CAN’T

ANOTHER CHALLENGE

Hosted by Teddy of So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Challenge Rules:
I hope all of you ARC Readers will join me again in 2011 for the ARC Reading Challenge. I welcome old and new participants. I don’t know about you, but my ARC pile is way too big. That is why I am making one big change to this challenge. For 2011 you don’t have to list all of the ARCs that you have. That’s right, no more “wall of shame.” LOL! Although you can list them if you want to.
Note: I use the term “ARC” loosely,any book a publisher or author gives you with the expectation that you review it, counts for this challenge.
The Levels
*Level Bronze: .a. All of us who have or will have less than 12 ARCS must read all of the ARCS we have. Note, that if you have 11 ARC’s and then receive a 12th one you will be bumped up to catagory b.
b. All of us who have or will have 12 or more than 12 ARCS must read and review at least 12.
*Level Silver: Read 24 ARCS
*Level Gold: Read 25 ARCS (I chose this level)
*Level Platinum: Read 30 or more ARCS
Rules:
*To sign up, leave a direct link to your blog post about this challenge. Please leave a comment as well.
*You don’t have to make a list of which ARC’s you plan to read, but you can if you want.
*If you choose a lower level, you can always change it to a higher level if you like. However, you cannot go from a higher level back down to a lower level.
*Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and Audio-books and ebooks are allowed as long as they are ARC’s.
*Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.
*Please subscribe to my blog, as I will be doing a monthly post with MR Linky. Please add your reviews for each month in MR Linky in the monthly post. For your Name, please use this format Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author’s Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader). Please be sure to use the direct link to your review, not just to your blog. Then please leave a comment.

Are you signing up?

Friday Memes

Friday

CMash December 24, 2010 10 Comments

FRIDAY

Hosted by An Island Life

From An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

My Question:

What are you hoping Santa leaves you?

My Answer:

My dated Hallmark ornament and anything to do with books.

Hosted by Java from Never Growing Old

From Java’s blog:
Are you a blogger over 40? Yeah, welcome to the club!

Thursday Memes

CMash December 23, 2010 13 Comments

THURSDAY

I am apologizing in advance for my responses to today’s meme. As you may have noticed, I tend to be a bit of a chatter box, not only in real life, but here in cyberland where my fingers take over for my mouth. So just warning you that because of today’s questions, my answers might be lengthy.

http://btt2.wordpress.com/

This week’s question:

I’ve seen this question floating around the blogosphere a few times the last couple of days, so thought I’d pass it forward.

Which Book Changed Your Life?

I really had to think about this one. There have been so many books in my life that I have taken much from but the first one that came to mind after reading the question is the Left Behind series (13 books total). It is written by 2 ministers that have taken The Revelations from the Bible and incorporated it as a fictional read.

The Left Behind Collection I (Volumes 1-4) by Tim LaHaye: Book Cover

If you believe in God and the afterlife, you need to read this collection. A friend, who doesn’t enjoy reading, was the one who introduced me to this collection. It read like a fast paced action novel and it only took the first chapter of the first book and I couldn’t put it down, and read the entire collection in a few weeks. I knew about The Revelations but reading it in a fictional light was both eye opening and enlightening. I have many relatives that have read this book and we have had some really profound discussions about this series. (I do not want to say too much in case you decide to read this series). This is a collection that should be read!!!

Hosted by Lori from Dollycas’s Thoughts

From Lori’s site:

It struck me recently how much time I spend on this computer every day, blogging, chatting or playing games on Facebook, emailing friends and relatives, making cards and calendars, etc. etc. etc.

We depend on each other for book reviews, giveaways, encouragement, friendship, but how well do we really know each other?
WEEK 17 QUESTION
I know you are all busy with the holidays so I am only asking 1 question this week.

1. Share with us a favorite childhood holiday moment?

This is going to be a very bittersweet answer for me, as I sit here typing, and remembering like it was yesterday. This childhood memory goes way, WAY, back. I was in 2nd grade.

My Dad loved the holidays and buying gifts. Every year it was a tradition, that he would take my sister and I Christmas shopping for my Mom and then out to eat. But this year he didn’t and we couldn’t figure out why. So that Christmas Eve morning, there were 3 brown lunch bags tied with ribbons, one for my mother, sister and me, under the tree. Of course we had to shake, feel, etc. because Mom, my sister and I couldn’t figure out what he was up to. After the three of us did the shaking and feeling we all came up with the same answer, it felt like there were walnuts in the lunch bags. I can picture my Mom’s face as she said to us….”I think your father has lost his mind…..walnuts? in brown lunch bags?” We couldn’t wait to see what was going on but Dad said we were not opening presents until Christmas morning. And of course, we wanted to open those first but he said those would be opened last. We ripped through all the other presents because we wanted to know what was in those bags and what he was up to. Finally, it was time to open our lunch bags that were tied with ribbons!!!! And sure enough…..walnuts!!!! However, there was a small jewelry box that the walnuts were surrounding. And in each jewelry box was a diamond ring!!! The look on his face was priceless, which I can still recall, because of all the emotions he was feeling….he was so happy that he pulled this off, so happy when he saw the look on our faces, so happy that he was able to give the three of us diamond rings, he loved diamonds!!

Of course my Mom got the largest diamond, my sister’s was a little smaller than Mom’s and mine, remember I was only in 2nd grade…about 8 years old, got the small diamond ring. From that day to today, I have had that ring on my finger. Sadly, I lost my Dad when I was 16, but have so many precious memories, because he was always up to something and he lived each day like it was his last. One thing that makes me really sad when I think about him, is that he never got to meet his grandsons, and my oldest son looks just like my Dad!!!

Lori: thank you for this question…even though it was a bittersweet memory, I got to share a little bit of my Dad with you.

Thursday Memes

CMash December 23, 2010 13 Comments

THURSDAY

I am apologizing in advance for my responses to today’s meme. As you may have noticed, I tend to be a bit of a chatter box, not only in real life, but here in cyberland where my fingers take over for my mouth. So just warning you that because of today’s questions, my answers might be lengthy.

http://btt2.wordpress.com/

This week’s question:

I’ve seen this question floating around the blogosphere a few times the last couple of days, so thought I’d pass it forward.

Which Book Changed Your Life?

I really had to think about this one. There have been so many books in my life that I have taken much from but the first one that came to mind after reading the question is the Left Behind series (13 books total). It is written by 2 ministers that have taken The Revelations from the Bible and incorporated it as a fictional read.

If you believe in God and the afterlife, you need to read this collection. A friend, who doesn’t enjoy reading, was the one who introduced me to this collection. It read like a fast paced action novel and it only took the first chapter of the first book and I couldn’t put it down, and read the entire collection in a few weeks. I knew about The Revelations but reading it in a fictional light was both eye opening and enlightening. I have many relatives that have read this book and we have had some really profound discussions about this series. (I do not want to say too much in case you decide to read this series). This is a collection that should be read!!!

Hosted by Lori from Dollycas’s Thoughts

From Lori’s site:

It struck me recently how much time I spend on this computer every day, blogging, chatting or playing games on Facebook, emailing friends and relatives, making cards and calendars, etc. etc. etc.

We depend on each other for book reviews, giveaways, encouragement, friendship, but how well do we really know each other?
WEEK 17 QUESTION
I know you are all busy with the holidays so I am only asking 1 question this week.

1. Share with us a favorite childhood holiday moment?

This is going to be a very bittersweet answer for me, as I sit here typing, and remembering like it was yesterday. This childhood memory goes way, WAY, back. I was in 2nd grade.

My Dad loved the holidays and buying gifts. Every year it was a tradition, that he would take my sister and I Christmas shopping for my Mom and then out to eat. But this year he didn’t and we couldn’t figure out why. So that Christmas Eve morning, there were 3 brown lunch bags tied with ribbons, one for my mother, sister and me, under the tree. Of course we had to shake, feel, etc. because Mom, my sister and I couldn’t figure out what he was up to. After the three of us did the shaking and feeling we all came up with the same answer, it felt like there were walnuts in the lunch bags. I can picture my Mom’s face as she said to us….”I think your father has lost his mind…..walnuts? in brown lunch bags?” We couldn’t wait to see what was going on but Dad said we were not opening presents until Christmas morning. And of course, we wanted to open those first but he said those would be opened last. We ripped through all the other presents because we wanted to know what was in those bags and what he was up to. Finally, it was time to open our lunch bags that were tied with ribbons!!!! And sure enough…..walnuts!!!! However, there was a small jewelry box that the walnuts were surrounding. And in each jewelry box was a diamond ring!!! The look on his face was priceless, which I can still recall, because of all the emotions he was feeling….he was so happy that he pulled this off, so happy when he saw the look on our faces, so happy that he was able to give the three of us diamond rings, he loved diamonds!!

Of course my Mom got the largest diamond, my sister’s was a little smaller than Mom’s and mine, remember I was only in 2nd grade…about 8 years old, got the small diamond ring. From that day to today, I have had that ring on my finger. Sadly, I lost my Dad when I was 16, but have so many precious memories, because he was always up to something and he lived each day like it was his last. One thing that makes me really sad when I think about him, is that he never got to meet his grandsons, and my oldest son looks just like my Dad!!!

Lori: thank you for this question…even though it was a bittersweet memory, I got to share a little bit of my Dad with you.

2011 THE THREE Rs CHALLENGE

A NEW 2011 CHALLENGE…..THE THREE Rs

CMash December 22, 2010 7 Comments

Over the past month or so, if you follow this blog, you know that besides books, I also LOVE challenges. This past year, from reading so many excellent reviews, my personal tbr bucket list has grown. And I expect 2011 to be no different. But in 2011, we want to give those bloggers, that write the phenomenal reviews, recognition. SO………….Gina, from Hott Books, Julie from Reading Without Restraint and myself are cohosting a challenge for just that. We hope that you will help us recognize those bloggers that write the reviews for the books that we read. We are also planning some fun giveaways too. Gina has created a site just for this challenge, so we hope that you head on over, sign up and join us in the fun!!! So….drumroll……introducing our 2011 Challenge:

About:

The Three R’s is a collaboration of the minds of Cheryl from CMash Loves to Read, Julie from Reading with Restraint, and Gina from Hott Books. The ideas, the creativity, and the technology – respectively. We’re each putting forth what we can do to spring this to life.

It all started because Cheryl wanted to remember the bloggers who write the reviews that begin our journey to a new book, new series, or new author. Every day each of us reads the reviews of others shaping our TBR lists. Then we occasionally remember to note them in our post but, more often than not, we completely forget about the reviews that brought us to the wonderful book we’ve just read.

So this challenge is for them!

We’d like to link our reviews that mention the blogger that suggested the book we’ve read and are now reviewing.

How thankful are you?

LEVELS

1-6 Books (~1 review every 2 months)

7-12 Books (~1 reviews every month)

13-24 Books (~ 2 reviews every month)

RULES:

We’re not making this a difficult challenge, actually, it’s going to be very simple!

Write a starting post stating how thankful you plan to be in the upcoming year and link it to the linky we’ll have on the starting post.

Read a book recommended to you by another blogger. (This book can be a crossover from another challenge.)

Review the book & Recognize the blogger who recommended it to you.

Recommend the Book in our Recommend linky by linking your review post naming the blogger who recommended the book to you.

Easy, right? Who wants to be in on the fun?

What else will we be doing?

We’ll have quarterly giveaways for our participants to enter and unannounced special drawings for commenters on the site so be sure to leave your email address with your comment!

DATES:

Challenge will run from January 1st 2011 to December 31st, 2011

And don’t forget to tell your friends!!!!!