Final 2012 Book Challenge List and Descriptions

My 2012 Book Challenges

Off The Shelf 2012:  I chose the “On a Roll” level (read 50 books that you already own, but have not read)
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2012:  I chose level 2 (read 24 mystery & suspense novels)
100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2012:  Read 100 books in the year
3660 Minutes Reading Challenge:  Read 3660 minutes in 2012 to a child
A to Z Reading Challenge:  I chose the title challenge A to Z (read a book titled with every letter A to Z, aka 26 books)
1,000,000 Pages Read Challenge:  read a total of one million pages (this is a perpetual challenge)
Mount TBR Reading Challenge:  I chose to “climb” Mt Vancouver (read 25 books from my TBR pile)
Kinsey Millhone Reading Challenge:  Read the Kinsey Millhone Series (this is a perpetual challenge)
Finishing the Series Reading Challenge:  I chose Level 2 (complete 2 series)
Versatile Reading Challenge 2012:  I am doing all four quarters of this challenge (all year) (read at least one book per month from the categories for those months)
2012 Reading Challenge Addict:  I chose “In Flight” (have at least 11-15 challenges that are entered AND complete)
2012 Romantic Suspense Reading Challenge:  I chose Level 1 (read 4 romantic suspense novels)
Getting Lost in a Comfortable Book 2012 Reading Challenge: Read 5 books off of the given list.
2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge:  I chose the “Mini YA Reading Challenge” (read 12 YA novels)
2012 Mammoth Book Challenge:  Level 1 (read 2 mammoth-sized books, aka 450 + pages)
2012 Women’s Murder Club Reading Challenge:  Level 1 (read 1-3 books in the series)
Mixing It Up Challenge 2012:  “Mixing Bowl” (read a  book from 9-12 of the given categories)
2012 YA Mythology Challenge:  Read 10 YA or Middle grade novels that incorporate any type of mythology
What’s In A Name 5 Reading Challenge:  Read one book in each of the 6 categories/guidelines given
Books Published In The First Years Of My Life Challenge 2012: “Pre-Teen” level (read at least one book published in first 10 years of my life)
Serial Killers Reading Challenge 2012:  Read as many books as you can about serial killers (fiction or non-fiction)
2012 Time Travel Reading Challenge:  “Surprise Trip” level (read 1-3 books that have time travel in them)
Cupcakes War Reading Challenge:  Read 2 books a month from the genre given
Stephanie Plum Reading Challenge:  Complete the Series (this is a perpetual challenge)
2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge:  “Initiate Level” (read 1-5 witchy books)
Erotic Reading Challenge 2012:  "Dipping Your Toe" (read 5 erotic books)
TV Addict Reading Challenge:  "Single Play" Read books that correspond to one tv show 
Why Buy The Cow? Reading Challenge:  "Coupon Clipper"  Read 12 free e-books
2012 Read Your Name Challenge:  ANGIE:  Read titles IN ORDER that start with letters of my name.
2012 Nightwalkers Reading Challenge:  Level 3:  Read 5-6 books in this series
Immortals After Dark Reading Challenge:  Read this series of 12 books  

For exact progress as I go, look in my right-hand sidebar on my blog toward the bottom of the page.  There I have progress bars for each challenge I have entered into for 2012.  :)  I also will be updating the original posts as I go for these challenges.

Theme Thursdays: Old

Theme Thursday - OLD (worn out, torn, past etc)

This is a new meme hosted by kavyen at Reading between Pages.. “Theme Thursdays” will be open from one thursday to the next and anyone can post it. The rules are simple:

* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – OLD (worn out, torn, past etc)

"The blue paint on the porch rail, uneven to begin with, had begun to peal with age. I had the depressing sensation of having been here before.  I could picture the shoddy interior: cracked tile on the kitchen counters, buckling vinyl tile on the floors, wall-to-wall carpeting trampled into traffic patterns that could never be cleaned of soil.  The aluminum window frames wold be warped, the bathroom fixtures corroded.  A battered green four-door Mercury had been pulled off onto the side grass"  

I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton pages 33-34.

2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge

Decided to sign up for one last book challenge.  I am going for the level of Initiate:  Read 1 - 5 Witchy Books.

Challenge Rules:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.  I will be posting a place to link up a sign-up post (below), reviews and a wrap-up post. (Note: You do not have to review the books to participate, but only those who link up reviews will be entered for the prize)
2. Grab the reading challenge button (code & button below) 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 could track your progress and post reviews on  Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, etc.
3. Any full length book that includes a witch as a main character or major witchcraft elements counts.  They may be fiction or non-fiction.  However, they should not be reference books which are not read cover to cover-I will leave this to your discretion.  
4. Books can be any format (bound, eBook, audio).
5. Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
6. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
7. When you sign up in the linky put the direct link to your post about joining the 2012 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge.
8. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
9. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
10. Have some Witchy Good Fun !!!

The Levels:

Initiate:  Read 1 - 5 Witchy Books

Maiden:  Read 6 - 10 Witchy Books

Mother:  Read 11 - 15 Witchy Books

Crone:  Read 16 - 20 Witchy Books

Progress:

1.  Dead To The World by Charlaine Harris

2.  Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

3.  From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris

4.  The Other Slipper by Kenechi Udogu

5.  Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman

Cat Thursday!

Cat Thursday is all about cats!  It's a time to share cat pictures with others.  :)

That's right, Jinxy knows how to ride in style.  :)

Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon (Mini Challenge)

Decided....why not?  :)  


Going to give this mini challenge my best shot.  I don't see why I can't do at least one novel and review it, maybe two.


Here's the details from the site:

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon 2012--Information and Sign-Up

The Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon is just a bit over a month away on January 23 through January 29! It will start at 12:00am Monday and end at 11:59pm on Sunday.  Times are central standard time so adjust your times accordingly.  I plan to host a mini-challenge (or two or more) and there will be a giveaway for every one who signs in at the starting line and completes a wrap up post at the end.  Of course, like most read-a-thons, the books read must be novels or novellas, adult or young adult are fine, but no children's books.  You DO NOT have to participate the entire week.  Join in when you can, start in the middle, end early...whatever works best for your schedule.  As long as you sign in at the sign-in post and do some kind of wrap up post, you're in for the giveaway.  As with my previous read-a-thons, it will be a week of relaxed reading during which we can personally challenge ourselves and whittle away those ever looming TBR piles/shelves/libraries.  I hope you will join me!


You do not have to have a blog to participate. You can sign-up, sign-in, and wrap-up...all from Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads. You can also do updates from those locations, if you do not have a blog. Also, to chat or update during the read-a-thon on Twitter, use hashtag #WintersRespite.


You do not have to do a post right now, unless you want to help get the word out.  Just post a link to your blog (or to your post, if you decide to do one) in the Mr. Linky below.

I'm putting the call out to anyone who would like to host a mini-challenge and/or giveaway.  Authors, if you would like to sponsor a giveaway or donate a prize, please let me know.  You can contact me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Any and all help will be greatly appreciated!

Theme Thursdays: Clothing

Theme Thursdays [Clothes] – 22Dec11

Posted on December 22, 2011 by kavyen

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This weeks theme is Clothing.


Book: H is for Homicide
Author:  Sue Grafton


Snippet:  p220  "All by myself and the office records of a scofflaw, insurance-defrauding bone cracker not ten feet away.  I checked the door to the examining room, which had a thumb button on the knob, which I pressed, locking it.  I stripped my clothes off in haste and pulled the gown over my head, then padded barefoot into the doctor's office, locking his door, too."

Theme Thursdays

I am going to try and make a point to do this every week!  It isn't hard, just takes a few min to find the quote in your book and make a post.  :)  Interesting too.

Theme Thursdays [Clothes] – 22Dec11

Posted on December 22, 2011 by kavyen

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

BOOK REVIEW: H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton

picture source:  books.google.com

Title:  H is for Homicide
Author: Sue Grafton
Pages: 287
Publication Date:  1991
Version:  Paperback

Summary from Book: (USA Today says):
“The eight novel in Grafton’s best-selling series is perhaps the wildest ride yet.  The story begins with the violent end of Parnell Perkins….[Kinsey] is determined not to get involved in Perkins’ homicide, even if they had been drinking buddies and he seemed like a truly nice guy.  After all, his case is unrelated to Kinsey’s current one, the suspicious claims filed by on e Bibianna Diaz.  If Kinsey can crack the Diaz case…maybe [she] can keep her job….Grafton’s skill with dialogue, her vivid characterizations and California scenery are priceless…There are moments when the tension becomes so unbearable that you are temped to skip paragraphs out of self-preservation”

My Review:
Kinsey Millhone is a wonderful character who you can’t help but identify with and love.  She always seems to get into trouble of some kind, but at the same time finds a way out of it too.  Kinsey is a Private Investigator for the company California Fidelity.  She works there for office space basically.  She gives them her PI skills to look into insurance claims and they give her an office to use for work she does for them and for her personal business she runs on the side.  When a new “top dog” comes in to work for the company he is not impressed at all with Kinsey or her work ethic as far as proper paperwork.  He is itching for a way to fire her.

Before she can worry about the new boss though, one of her co-workers is found murdered in front of the California Fidelity building.  She vows to herself not to get involved.  Kinsey gets somewhat involved when she is told she is taking over a claim investigation her co-worker (Parnell) was working on before he was killed.  She is then lead to believe that the investigation may have something to do with the murder.  Quickly that thought is put aside while she investigates the insurance claim from a Bibianna Diaz.  To get “in” with Diaz, Kinsey takes on a false identity of “Hannah”.  She gets close to Diaz by saying she is looking into housing and was interested in Diaz’s place if she ever moved.  Later she again runs into Diaz and  they start to become chummy.  Diaz is NOT an innocent woman though, she has a dark past.  A past that soon has Kinsey and a childhood friend of hers in a shoot-out in town after leaving a bar.  They end up in jail and then Kinsey is asked by a police officer she knows to go under cover to get to a whole chain of fraud connected to Diaz’s past relationship.

Kinsey does so and boy is that a ride for her.  She stays Hannah for most of the book to gain information needed to make a bust.  Kinsey learns things about herself, Diaz, and her childhood friend that she never would have dreamed she would find out.  Once Kinsey is “Hannah” the action and suspense never stops.  You keep reading without even knowing how much time is passing and before you know it, you have the book read.  Kinsey goes through hell and back while undercover that’s for sure.

The beginning of the book had me wondering where it was really all going, but once I got into the book more it all started making more sense.  Once I hit about a quarter of the way through the book I had a hard time tearing myself away from the book.  I wanted to keep going with it to see how things turned out.  The ending was true Grafton writing too, amazing.  I like how Grafton doesn’t go “stale” in the series.  I have read all the books in the series up to I now and every book I get worried that Grafton will slip into the same old same old that some authors do after book 6 or more.  To my great surprise, however, she doesn’t.  Grafton just keeps plugging out great books with different situations in all of them.

I have to give this book 4 stars out of 5.  I would have given 5, but I think the take off of the book was a bit too long and slow for my taste.  All in all though, it was a great read and if you like mystery/suspense with great characters this is the book you want to read!  

Cupcake Wars Reading Challenge

CUPCAKES WAR READING CHALLENGE 2012

CUPCAKES WAR READING CHALLENGE 2012

(Come Up and Participate in the Challenge And Keep Earning Sweets  While ActivelyReading!)

I thought that since the Cupcakes War is so much fun to watch on television. It amazes me what great creative cupcakes the bakers make.  I thought why not host a Cupcakes War Challenge while reading books.  Since I love books and I think cupcakes are cute and yummy, why not just combine the two!  So here it is.......

WHEN:                Throughout the months of 2012 –    Starting in January.

WHY:                  Just for the fun of setting a different reading goal each month.

WHAT:                Reading a different reading genre each month and meeting goal.

WHERE:              Online

WHO:                  Anyone that likes to challenge themselves to read by setting a goal.

HOW:                  Signing up on Mr. Linky to participate in the Cupcakes War Challenge.  Each month will have a designated genre to read. Sometimes it is easy to get in a rut and read the same kind of books.  This challenge will help you to choose different genres!

I hope that you decide to join the Challenge!

SCHEDULE:

JANUARY:           JUVENILE FICTION

FEBRUARY:         ROMANCE FICTION

MARCH:              MYSTERIES

APRIL:                ADULT FICTION

MAY:                  MEMOIRS

JUNE:                 JUST CHICK LIT

JULY:                  JUST NEW YORK TIMES 

                          BESTSELLER LIST BOOKS

AUGUST:            AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

SEPTEMBER:      SOUTHERN FICTION

OCTOBER:         OWN CHOICE

NOVEMBER:       NOTHING BUT INSPIRATIONAL

DECEMBER:       DEBUT AUTHORS

I would imagine that everyone that participates could set a goal of at least two (2) books in the designated genre for the month.  At the end of the month, I will display a different cupcake that you can add to your site.  If you successfully accomplish the goal each month, you will end with a dozen cupcakes on your site!  I hope that you decide to join in the fun with this fun challenge!!!

Can't wait to see if I can manage this.  :)  I like trying out new genres and I think this is the perfect way to do that AND obtain a goal.  :)  And who wouldn't LOVE to get cupcakes for their blog???!!!!

Updates:

January:  Juvenile Fiction

1.  Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

2.  Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

February:  Romance Fiction

1.  Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

2.  One Foot In The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

March:  Mystery

1.  The Secret of the Scarlet Stone by T.L. Clarke

2.  Blood Oath by T.L. Clarke

April:  Adult Fiction

1.  First Time Killer by Zak Allen

2.  Clear and Convincing Proof by Kate Wilhelm

May:  Memoirs

1.  Mennonite In A Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

2.  Blood Runs like a river through my dreams by Nasdijj

June:  Chick Lit

1.  One For The Money by Janet Evanovich

2.  Two For The Dough by Janet Evanovich

July:  NY Times Best Seller List Titles

1.  1st To Die by James Patterson

2.  2nd Chance by James Patterson

August:  Animal Stories or Autobiographies

1.  And Your Little Dog Too by Melissa Cleary

2.  In the Doghouse by Melissa Cleary

September:  Southern Fiction

1.  Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

2.  Ghost on Black Mountain by Ann Hite

October:  Own Choice

1.  Mask of Shadows by Erick Burgess

2.  Farsighted by Emlyn Chand

November:  Inspirational 

1.  Castaway Kid by R.B. Mitchell

2.  Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo

December:  Debut Authors

1.  Despair by T.L. Erickson

2.  The Thirteenth Chime by Emma Michaels