Adventures In Letters Book Club

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Starts February 5, 2012
This is something we’ve wanted to do for a reallllllly long time.  So here we are, finally, announcing the creation of the Adventures In Letters Book Club.

Here’s the dealio. I’ve made a facebook group where we will be posting polls to help choose upcoming books. You can link up and chat there if you’d like. If you are not on facebook, leave your vote as a comment. 

You can sign up for our awesome newsletter and each month you will get an email with our choice for the next month, along with some other bloggy stuff. Or you can subscribe to our blog (or twitter or facebook or whatever) and just keep an eye out for the posts. 

We will post a non spoilery discussion post at the beginning of the month (where you can announce your intention to participate) with some history and interesting tidbits about the book we’ve chosen. I’ll also stick some questions in there for your brain to mull over while you read. 

The book will be divided into chunks and read over a 3 to 6 week period, depending on length. Each week, we’ll post a couple of questions and our thoughts on what’s happened so far. Remember to put up a big ole spoiler warning up for your readers if you post this on your blog!!

You can link up your posts in the comments or just write what you think right there or on facebook!
We will also be having chats on twitter using the hashtag #lettersbc. Please keep these as spoiler free as possible, you don’t want to ruin the book for other people. 

There is a group button which you should feel free to steal and share, stick it in your sidebar, or ignore it completely. I hope you join us! We will be choosing the first book over the next couple of weeks and reading will commence the first Sunday of February (the 5th). 


We've chosen our first book, TheTiger's Wife. Our sections and discussions will be:
February 12: Chapters1-4 inclusiveFebruary  19:Chapters 5-8 inclusiveFebruary  26:Chapters 9-13 inclusive
Our TheTiger's Wife post can be found here
Voting for our next book begins February  12.
For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

The Hunger Games Read Along

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Credit
February 12, 2012-March 23, 2012
We've all heard that Suzanne Collins novel The Hunger Games is coming out in movie form on March 23, 2012 right?  I've heard that there are people out there who haven't read the first book yet, which got me to thinking.  I LOVE this series and I'm going to read it again before the movie is released so why don't I offer to do a Read Along for those bloggers who either haven't read the first book and want to before the movie is released or just want to re-read the first book before the movie is released?!   So here we have The Hunger Games Read Along...

Here's the information that you need to know:

1. The reading officially begins February 12 and the Read Along will conclude on March 23, 2012.  To sign up please create a sign up post and link to that post in the linky provided below (links to homepages will be deleted, only links to the Read Along post). Sign ups conclude on February 11, 2012 at 11:59 pm CST.
2. Each week on Sunday please post a discussion post of what you have read so far (your thoughts, feelings, etc. about what you've read of the book so far), there will be a  couple of discussion questions posted on each Sunday to provide some inspiration if you need it. NOTE: If you read ahead please do NOT post your discussion post early to prevent spoilers.
3. Come back on Sunday and link up your discussion post in the linky that will be provided.
4. At the end of the Read Along I will be giving away some Hunger Games merchandise to 1 lucky Read Along winner.
5. If you have any questions you can email me at notyourmothersbookblog@yahoo.com.  Please put "The Hunger Games Read Along" in the subject line.

The Reading Schedule:
Part 1 "Tributes"
Chapters 1-4 (1, 2, 3 & 4).....February 12-19Chapters 5-9 ......February 19-26
Part 2 "The Games"
Chapters 10-14.....February 26-March 4Chapters 15-18.....March 4-March 11
Part 3 "The Victor"
Chapter 19-22....March 11-March 18Chapters 23-27.....March 18-March 23

The Stephen King Challenge!

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February 1, 2012 – No End DateAs far as I could determine, there are no other Stephen King challenges (yearly or perpetual) going on now. I know that Book Geek blog was hosting a perpetual challenge at one time, but I checked her blog and she has not been active since January of 2011 (hope everything is okay with her). I'm assuming that the challenge is no longer active. If I'm mistaken, feel free to let me know.
So...my friend Kate and I (Read 2 Review) were talking about doing a project together and we decided to host a Stephen King reading challenge! Since Stephen King has such a huge list of books, we decided to make this a perpetual challenge. I know, I know...you're thinking "perpetual? I never get motivated to complete perpetual challenges." Well, don't worry. We are going to have mini-challenges throughout the year with prizes and we will also have read-a-longs during the year as well. Kate had the idea for our first read-a-long...to read Carrie during prom season. Clever, right?! As far as the mini-challenges go, the first one will begin at the official start of this challenge, which is February 1, 2012, and the prize will be a brand new hard cover copy of Stephen King's newest novel, 11/22/63! The mini-challenge schedule will work as follows:
Feb | March | April -- mini-challenge
May | June | July -- mini-challenge
Aug | Sept | Oct -- mini-challenge
Nov | Dec -- free months

*November and December are free/non-mini-challenge months due to most of us being so busy during the holiday season.

The first mini-challenge will be to read books within certain themes. You will choose three themes and read three books that will fit each of the themes during the three month mini-challenge period. If you complete the three themed reads, you will be entered in the giveaway for the book, 11/22/63. A bonus entry will be given to any person who reads a fourth book that fits within the fourth left over theme.
Examples:
Fantasy/Post-Apocalyptic
i.e. The Stand, any book from the Gunslinger series, Under the Dome, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Talisman (with Peter Straub), Black House (with Peter Straub), 11/22/63
Ghosts/Hauntings
i.e. The Shining, Bag of Bones, Duma Key, It, Insomnia
Creatures--supernatural (werewolves, vampires, demons/devils, zombies, etc.) or other type (animals, aliens, etc.)
i.e. Salem's Lot, Needful Things, Cycle of the Werewolf, The Eyes of the Dragon, Dreamcatcher, Pet Sematary, Cell, Cujo, It, The Tommyknockers
the mind--psychic, psychological, possession, abuse, etc.
i.e. Misery, The Green Mile, Dolores Claiborne, Rose Madder, Carrie, Gerald's Game, The Dark Half, The Dead Zone, Desperation, The Regulators
You can also earn a bonus entry if you read a book of King short stories. The books of short stories are clearly marked in the list of King works listed below in the footer of the blog.
To summarize:

• Official start date is February 1, 2012 and lasts...forever! LOL! Stop when you've read all of King's books, could be two years from now, could be five years. Take a break any time or stop when you've had enough (although I'll never have enough of SK).
  
• Choose three themes from the list and read one book within each theme during the three month mini-challenge period (Feb., March, April) to receive one entry in the giveaway.
  
• For a bonus entry, choose one book in the left over theme and read it during the three month period.
  
• You can also receive a bonus entry if you read a book of SK short stories (you do not have to read the fourth themed book to get this entry).
  
• There will be a mini-challenge review page for you to link up your reviews. This will be the method we use to keep track of who completes the mini-challenge (and who earns the bonus entries). If you don't have a blog that you review books on, you can link to your reviews on Goodreads or leave your thoughts about the books in the comments (I will allow comments on the review page).

Giveaway rules: The winner will be chosen via random.org and must be a resident of the U.S. If the winner is not a U.S. resident, we will purchase the Stephen King book of your choice (under $10) from Better World Books (they ship free internationally) and have it shipped to you. This book will quite possibly be a gently used book.
The goal of this challenge is to, ultimately, read all of Stephen King's books. I have posted the complete list of his works in the footer section below. If you would like to embark on this journey with us, please sign-up in the linky below. If you have any questions, feel free to contact myself or Kate. Contact information can be found in the 'About' page.
For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Read-A-Phrase Challenge

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January 1, 2012 – December 1, 2012

Rules (such as they are):
--As the name of the challenge implies, your choice must be a phrase.(Phrase=A sequence of words intended to have meaning.)
I’m going to use the title of this challenge as my phrase this time. That makes 20 books for me to read.
--Any genre of fiction is allowed. Either print or ebooks. Any release date. The only two conditions are that you haven’t read the book before(this will help that TBR mountain I know you all have), and it should be at least 100 pages.
--You don’t have to select your books ahead of time. Even if you do, you can change your books as you go. Your books can crossover with other challenges.
--To join in, sign up with Mr. Linky below. (still trying to figure out how to do that one). For bloggers, please use a link to the post where you will be keeping track of the challenge. If you aren't a blogger, just add a comment with the phrase you plan to use.(finally figured out how to enable comments on this page)
--Reviews are not required, but if you want to do one and share the link with us, go for it.
--Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 - December 1, 2012
The reason I’m ending the challenge on Dec. 1^st is so that I have time to send out the prize in time for the winner to receive it by Christmas.
Yes, I said prize. Anyone who signs up for the challenge by June 25, 2012(my birthday), chooses a phrase that is at least 10 letters long(not counting any spaces), and completes the challenge by Dec. 1^st, will go into a drawing. The winner will be allowed to pick five books off a list I will be providing. I will get them shipped in time for the winner to have them as a Christmas gift. Sorry, US addresses only for this prize. I’m also thinking about a prize for the longest phrase completed.


For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.

Birth Year Reading Challenge

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Now through January 31st, 2013

Birth Year Reading Challenge 2012 - Honors
What books were published the year you were born, or the birth year of someone special to you? This challenge encourages you to find out, and then read some of them. You might even draw a few conclusions about social and literary trends that year. If nothing else, you'll have an incentive to explore books you might otherwise not have considered.
Wikipedia has lists of books by year published. You can also check literary prize lists for high-quality choices. Using Google to locate “best books of _____” also provides some interesting choices. There is also a cool feature at BibliOZ where you can check the New York Times bestseller list for the week you were born. (Special thanks to 3m at 1morechapter for pointing this out.)
If you already participated in this challenge, or if you discover you were born in a year of unattractive books, the Honors option gives you the chance to sample another year instead. So read on!
Ready to join? Leave a comment and a link to your post, and I'll sign you right up.
RULES
1. Join anytime between now and November 30, 2012. The challenge ends at midnight EST on January 31, 2013.
2. a. Choose books from your birth year.
AND/OR
2.b. Choose someone you want to honor, then choose books from their birth year. Your sign-up post should include who they are (not necessarily by name) and the reason you want to honor them.
3. Books may come from your TBR pile or list, but they don’t have to.
4. Overlaps with other challenges are allowed and encouraged.
5. Change your list at any time.
6. Reviews and reactions are encouraged, but not required. You don’t need to have a blog to participate. But you do need to let me know of your progress, so I can bestow your virtual candles. (Here's the progress and reviews page from BYRC 2011, so you can see how it works.)
7. All genres and formats are eligible. If it’s a book, you can count it.
8. One candle is awarded for each qualifying book you read. There is no limit on how few or how many candles you can earn.
ACHIEVER PRIZES
When you meet your reading goal, you can select a book from my library – most likely a gently used trade paperback – and I'll mail it to you. But keep reading because . . .
OVERACHIEVER PRIZE
The person who reads the most books for the challenge will receive a fun little surprise package with a bookish theme.
GRAND PRIZE

On February 1, 2013, the three readers who’ve earned the most candles will be entered into a drawing for a $25.00 gift card from Barnes & Noble. Nothing like a little no-cost book shopping to start a new year off right!


For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.