Thursday, December 12, 2013

100 Books in a Year Challenge 2014

100 Books in a Year Banner
Welcome to the 100 Books in a Year Challenge 2014! Please see below for all the details of the challenge. Enjoy and have fun! :D
Sign-up Details
To sign up, make a post on your blog about participating in the challenge and link it up below. Feel free to use the banner above, however, a link via the image back to this post, so others can join the challenge if they wish, would be much appreciated.
Challenge Info
  • Timeline: 01 Jan 2014 – 31 Dec 2014
  • Rules: Read 100 books in 2014 (any genre)
  • You don’t have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.
  • You can join at anytime. All books read in 2014 count towards the challenge regardless of when you sign up.
  • Audiobooks are accepted.
  • Only fiction, no non-fiction.
  • This challenge can crossover with other challenges.
  • You don’t have to have a blog to join in – for those without a blog but who use Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing etc, you can add the URL to where you track your books. If you don’t have a URL at all then choose a name you would like to use and then copy and paste the following link: http://wp.me/p2wdqf-6ZI
  • At the beginning of each month I will be posting an open thread so you can discuss the books you’ve read and/or link up your reviews.


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

7th Annual Graphic Novel & Manga Challenge 2014

7th Annual Graphic Novel & Manga Challenge 2014 

                            Graphic Novels

 

Hosted by  http://graphicnovelschallenge.blogspot.ca/2013/11/graphic-novel-manga-challenge-2014-sign.html

The 7th Year of this Challenge starts in 2014!!

It's time to start signing up for the 2014 challenge now.  Trying to keep things simple this year.  Only change is we will have 3 levels of play this year.  Please write a sign-up post on your blog and then sign-up below with a link to your specific sign-up post (NOT to your home page).  

What counts:  graphic novels, collected trade editions, manga, comic strip collections, comic books. In print or digital. Anything else you feel is suitable.  My criteria is if it has either frames OR speech bubbles it counts.  I'm not going to be the comic police but if you are unsure, ask me in the comments any given month.

Here is how the Challenge will play out this year:

runs from Jan.1 - Dec. 31, 2014

Levels

Modern Age: read and review 12 books during the year (that's only 1 book a month)

Bronze Age: read and review 24 books during the year (Can you handle 2 books a month.)

Silver Age: read and review 52 books during the year (Are you up to a book a week!)

This will be my first time participating in this challenge. I am going to go for Bronze Age. That's 2 a month. I look forward to this as I've been meaning to read more comics/graphic novels. 

I Love Picture Books Reading Challenge 2014

I Love Picture Books
Reading Challenge
2014



For all of you who still love picture books but find they don't qualify for your other challenges. . . You know you're going to read them, they might as well count!

Guidelines:
  • Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
  • Read picture books
  • Pick a number and go for it. Twelve too easy? Go for 20. Piece of cake? Go for 40.
  • Books you own and library check outs count. So do ebooks and re-reads.
  • Please post about the challenge and sign up with a direct link.
  • A blog is not necessary, just link to where you talk about the challenge
  • Reviews are not necessary but would be nice (so we know which ones to read ourselves!) A link for reviews will be posted in January.

For this reading challenge I plan on reading 125 picture books with my son. Yeah you read that right. 125! We read over 75 books this summer alone so I think we can easily do it. 

Books Read For Challenge
1. Life is a Bowl Full of Cherries by Vanita Oelschlager 
2. Kobee Manatee by Robert Scott Thayer
3. Donald Duck and the Super Sticky Secret 
4. My Dad by Charles Fuge
5. More Parts by Ted Arnold

6. The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord/ Janet Burroway

7. Just My Friend & Me by Mercer Mayer

8. Click Clack Moo by Doreen Cronin

9.
10. 
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20. 



I'm Back


I'm back
Photo courtesy of Adi Respati


After a nearly 5 month absence I'm back to blogging. A number of things have happened in the last 5 months that culminated in my absence from blogging. Among them were school problems with my son, 2 serious family emergencies and other such important things that take precedence over blogging.

Over the next few days I will be doing some cleaning and spiffing up of the blog to prepare it for going into 2014. 

                              
In November I participated in National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. For those who have never heard of it NaNoWriMo is all about writing 50,000 words during the month of November. I'm proud to say that I won this year. I had tried the two previous years but had failed spectacularly. Third time was the charm! So, yeah I'm patting myself big time on the back.

That leads me into my plans and goals for my blog going into the New Year.

Number 1: I plan on writing 350,000 words in 2014. I plan on finishing my NaNoWriMo novel which is part of a series of fantasy romance novels. I also have a series of post-apocolyptic new adult romance novels planned. As to publishing said works...well if I ever find that I can edit them into something I think people will want to read then I most likely will go the route of self-publishing. I will be posting on my blog updates my progress

Number 2: I plan on entering a couple of reading challenges this year. Among them is to read 125 picture books, 100 non-picuture books, once a month review of a book and its movie counterpart, and lastly 24 graphic novels/ comic books.

Number 3: In regards to reading my review policy it is changing for right now. At the moment I am NOT accepting review requests. Why? Because I have a tight schedule and I don't want to make promises of posting a review by a certain time when I simply cannot guarentee that I can keep it. That is not to say I will not be reading any ARCs/Review copies. It is just that all ARCs/Review copies will be of books I have personally requested from an author/book tour/netgalley/etc. That doesn't mean I wont take book suggestions I just wont be taking requests. So for the most part my reading is purely pleasure. I apologize to the wonderful authors out there who so readily offer up their books for free reviews. I love you guys and I know how important blogger reviews are to you. I just can't make promises at this time. I will continue to read mainstream and indie books as I always have.

Number 4: I will now be posting movie reviews. A large number will be movies available for streaming from Netflix, some new releases, some oldies, some indies, and of course some foreign. These are purely for fun and I have no set amount that I will post. Hubby and I tend to rent/watch one or two movies on the weekends so

Number 5: Giveaways...ah one of my favorite things in the world is giveaways. There is nothing like that feeling when you get an email that says congratulations. I often enter giveaways when the mood hits me. So you may see posts on here from giveaways I enter. I also plan on hosting a few giveaways this year. Because they are a LOT of work and take a LOT of time I will most likely only be doing blog hop giveaways.

Number 6: I am pledging to blog 3-5 times a week. Some days may have 2 or more others may have only 1 or none. I also will be hooking up more with non-giveaway blog hops. I also am looking to communicate and actively follow more blogs. I miss the friendships I had with others on my old blog. I was always talking with my fellow bloggers and I think that it is important to be able to share you passion (in this case reading) with fellow bloggers.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Book Tour Review: Empyreal Illusions by Jake Bonsignore

ook.Sorry  for the lateness of this post. Went to bed last night with a scratchy throat only to wake to full blown summer cold. So I'm feeling a bit like garbage. So I apologize if this review is more rambling and filled with grammar mistakes.

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Breena Taljain’s dreary existence in the slums of Purgaire comes to a sudden end when a chance encounter with a criminal mastermind known as the Patriarch goes horridly wrong. His assault on her for refusing to pay for her mother’s addiction leaves her comatose and teetering on the edge of life and death.

Galbrecht Atalir is a washed-up doctor struggling to overcome his inner demons through alcohol and aggression. He never quite recovered from the unsolved murder of his family seven years prior. When he discovers Breena as his newest patient, he knows at once that the Patriarch is the one who eluded him for almost a decade.

The medicine Galbrecht gives Breena draws her into a heavenly paradise. When it ebbs away, though, the recurring trauma plunges her into treacherous hinterlands. There, Breena must learn to find power in courage, hope, and love to overcome fiends of hatred bent on permanently ending her existence.

With justice burning in his heart, Galbrecht begins a race against time to seek out the Patriarch in the ning terrors of her mind….


 Review
I was so excited to join the Tour for Impyreal Illusions. The moment I saw the book cover I knew i had to read it. I know one is not supposed to judge a book by its cover. But come one just look at the gorgeous cover. I received an ecopy of the book for my honest opinion.


In Empyreal Illusions Jake Bonsignore paints a world with the broad strokes of a paintbrush. One is immediately caught up in the world of Purgaire. This is one of those books that grabs you from the first page and propels you forward. This is one of those rare books that I lost sleep over. As in I stayed up as late as I could till I could no longer keep my eyes open just because I couldn't put it down. 

Its been a while since I've read a fantasy b This book manage to not only satisfy my fantasy itch but it brought me out of rut of books I've picked up and discarded after only a chapter or two. I felt for Breena, so tough for such a young girl. Her parents left me disgusted and angry.

Over all not only was this book great it was EPIC. I highly recommend it to...well everyone! I give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

Author Bio:Jake Bonsignore is the author of Descendant of Strife, Empyreal Illusions, and Awakening the Fire. He is a graduate of the University of South Florida with magna cum laude honors. Outside of his literary pursuits, he enjoys playing sports and is a fitness enthusiast. He is currently working on his next novel.







Social Media Connection:




You can purchase the book through



Barnes and Noble (E-book for Nook) - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/empyreal-illusions-jake-bonsignore/1115427220?ean=2940016473031

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Book Review: Him by Carey Heywood

Ok I'd be lying if I didn't say that the cover image was the reason why I decided to read this book. I mean come one about one sexy guy on the cover. I also love that he is sexy without being half naked. Lets face it in real life most of the sexy guys we encounter are fully clothed. Hubba Hubba.

Him is about that guy. You know THAT guy the one who even after all these years you can't forget him. For Sarah Miller "that guy" is Will her first love. She ran away 7 years ago and still cannot forget Will. He set the bar and all guys have fallen short. She finally travels back home for her brother's wedding only to find herself having to confront "HIM". Facing  painful memories and a love that blooms once more can the two survive?

OK let me say I LOOOOOOOVED this book. We have all had "THAT guy" that we think about now and again. I love that there was almost like two romance stories in one. There was the main love story of Sarah reconnecting with her long lost lover Will. Then there is the tender sweet flashback scenes of them back in high school falling in love. It was great because it spoke to the adult in me and the adult who loves to read YA. The best of both worlds.

My only real complaint about the book is that the flash backs should have ended sooner. There were some flash back scenes that were really unnecessary and didn't really contribute to the book at all. The next book in the series is supposed to be from Will's point of view. I know that is a trend in books now but I'm reluctant to read it. The same story told slightly differently doesn't do much for me. But for now I give Him a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

Cover Madness Hop Winner Announcement

                

Congratulations to entry #321 Tammy. You have won all three ebooks and the $5 amazon gift card. Please check back to this blog often as I plan on having bigger better giveaways in the future.