Sunday Salon

The books I have read in the past week: 
No finishes this week

Books I am currently reading:
I'm still working on The Bookman's Last Fling, and I started A Thousand Never Evers.

Books I plan on reading this week:
Since I read that Color Online is hosting a group book read on February 5, I plan to start Children of the Waters ASAP.

Where am I Wednesday?

I signed up for a lot of challenges - probably too many! I plan to check in each week to track what I've accomplished. Here's where I am so far.

POC Reading Challenge
   Asleep
   My Life as a Rhombus
   I just finished Six Easy Pieces, but haven't had time to write my review.
   I have checked out but not read A Thousand Never Evers, Bitter Sweets, and Children of the Waters.

Short Story Reading Challenge for 2010.
   I just finished Six Easy Pieces, but haven't had time to write my review.

Finish That Series Challenge in 2010.
   I am currently reading the Bookman's Last Fling.

Revisit Your Childhood Favorites Challenge
   I haven't started this one yet.

Twenty Minute Book Club Challenge.
   I haven't started this one yet.

 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge
   I just finished Six Easy Pieces, but haven't had time to write my review.
   I am currently reading the Bookman's Last Fling.
   I have checked out but not read A Thousand Never Evers, Trudy, Bitter Sweets, and Children of the Waters.

Support Your Local Author Challenge.
   My Life as a Rhombus
   I have checked out but not read A Thousand Never Evers and Trudy

Young Readers Challenge
   I haven't started this one yet

Flashback Challenge for 2010.
   After seeing the stage production, I think I'm going to reread The Color Purple

The Audio Book Challenge in 2010.
   I haven't started this one yet.

Sunday Salon

The books I have read in the past week:
Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosely
Books I am currently reading:
The Bookman's Last Fling
Books I plan on reading this week:

To share what have you been reading with your children this week, head over to Mouse Grows Mouse Learns !

These are the books I've read to my children this week.


These are the books my children have been reading on their own.

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Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

YA Fiction:
Fiction:

Sunday Salon - Mystery Read-A-Thon Wrap Up

I realize that it's Tuesday, but my weekend was busy and I just got around to posting this.

The books I have read in the past week:
Between sick children and preparation for return to classes, I didn't complete any books this week.

Books I am currently reading:
 I started Bookman's Last Fling and Six Easy Pieces.

Books I plan on reading this week:
This is the first week of class, so I just want to finish what I started. I won't add to the list.

My weekend was busier than I had anticipated, so I barely eked out 6 hours for this read-a-thon even with the holiday. But I enjoyed both books that I started, so I will read mystery this week. I hoe to do better next time around.

Library Loot: January 13-19

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

In preparation for the The 3rd Mystery Read-A-Thon January 16-17, I headed to the library to get a few reads ready.

Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley isbn 0743442547, 288 pages

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley isbn 1594488584, 320 pages

The Bookman's Last Fling by John Dunning isbn 1416523391, 337 pages

Sunday Salon - Bloggiesta Wrap Up

The books I have read in the past week:
   I finished Ask Me No Questions

Books I am currently reading:

Books I plan on reading this week:
   Since the Mystery Challenge is this upcoming weekend, I plan to read the Bookman's Last Fling and Protector.

I participated in the Bloggiesta. My time was limited, but I got some things done. Below is the list of things I had planned to do along with my comments.

• Write reviews. I got three written.
• Conduct and edit author interviews. I have someone in mind to interview. I haven't had time to come up with good questions or the courage to ask for the interview yet.
• Create template posts for my future reads. I revised the templates I had to make my process easier.
• Create a text file (or Google Doc) of cheat sheets (html codes, post url’s, etc) Did it!
• Improve my blog template, clean up sidebars, and install some plugins. Did it!
• Add or edit my about me page, review policy, disclosure policy, privacy policy, and landing pages
• Clean up and update my challenge lists. Did it!
• Visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning and find ways to improve my blog. Didn't get around to this one.
• Clean out and organize my feed reader and blog subscriptions. Did it!
• Find a blogging buddy. Need to get my courage to ask someone about this.

I also participated in 6 mini-challenges. I think I got in a total of 10 hours.

Addendum: When I originally posted this, I thought that the bloggiesta was over. When I later realized that I had more time,  I put in another couple of hours on my craft blog cleaning up my sidebar, choosing a new background, and changing font colors. So my new total is 12.5 hours.

Bloggiesta Update 6

I just put in another 30 minutes cleaning out my feed reader. I think that's 9.5 hours for me. I still need to visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning. We'll see if I get to it tonight.

My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson

My Life as a Rhombus by Varian Johnson isbn 0738711608, 312 pages

In this story, Rhonda attends a high end private school but avoids fitting in. She spends her time in the books. But she is forced to change course when she begins tutoring Sarah, one of the most popular girls in school. When she learns that Sarah is pregnant, memories of her own past help them to bond as friends. But Rhonda's past also blocks her ability to enjoy a relationship with Sarah's brother.

This was a nice story. It attempted to show a girl's struggle to avoid the mistakes of the past while trying to move on with her life. I also appreciated the fact that while the main characters where African American, it wasn't what defined them.

I completed this book as a participant in the following challenges.

Asleep

Asleep (1999) by Wendy Raven McNair 1442125241, 442 pages

This is the story of 16-year-old Adisa who fantasizes about being a super hero and lives in the shadow of her beautiful, older twin sisters. She falls for her new neighbor and classmate, Micah, who is initially standoffish. As they begin their relationship, she learns why he keeps to himself and tries to adjust to his secret.

I really enjoyed this book. Does this mean that I am only as emotionally mature as a teenaged girl? I don't know, but I was intrigued by the relationship that this couple shared. I was proud when she stood up for herself, and I was glad that she knows herself. This is a book that I'm excited to pass on to my daughters to read.

I was excited to learn that this is the first in a series, and disappointed to know that the rest of the series hasn't been written yet. I will definitely be first in line to buy the rest of these books as they come out.

I completed this book to participate in the POC Reading Challenge

Bloggiesta - Update 5

I put in a couple of hours this morning bringing me to 9 hours.

• I updated my template posts
• I commented on 15 blogs that were new to me (5 yesterday and 10 this morning).

I have to go be Super mommy for today (you know: scouts, hair appointments, playdates, etc.) I hope to get in another hour or two tonight to clean out my feed reader.

Good luck to you!

Bloggiesta Update

I ended up taking longer than I had planned to write these reviews. I have template posts, but I guess I need to improve them since I had to do a lot of modification. Since my last bloggiesta update, I have

• written 3 reviews

This gives me a total of 7 hours of participation. I really have to pick up kids now so I will stop for today.

Bloggiesta Update 3

Since my last bloggiesta update, I have

• participated in Rebecca's Resolution challenge
• participated in Lynn's challenge from last year
• graded my blog at http://blog.grader.com/ (I got this idea from Ruth from last year.)
• updated my "cheat sheet" of html code

This gives me a total of 5.5 hours of participation. I have to pick up kids soon, so I plan to get a couple of reviews written before I stop for today.

Bloggiesta - Update 2

Since my last bloggiesta update, I have

• signed up for MotherReader's comment challenge
• participated in Chelle's Best Post challenge
• I joined Kristen's Mentoring program.

This gives me a total of 4.5 hours of participation.

Bloggiesta - Update 1

OK, in my first couple of hours of the bloggiesta I have

• participated in Beth's Label mini challenge by adding labels to those posts I had neglected. I also added a label gadget in my sidebar. (I hadn't realized that it wasn't there!)
• I updated my list of challenges. It looks a bit intimidating to me.
• I added a gadget, which recognizes new and returning visitors and changes the greeting text accordingly. Directions for doing this can be found here for blogger and here for wordpress.
• I created a landing/about me page.

Bloggiesta - I'm starting!

I'm arriving to the party later than I had hoped. I needed to get some housework done so that I would have no guilt about the fact that I'm about to spend the next several hours sitting in front of this computer.

My kids are at school and it's the last day I have the house to myself before I return to work and school. So I plan to get the bulk of my hours for this challenge in today.

I made my list of things to do, and I think that there are several mini-challenges that I will be participating in as well. I'm not yet sure how often I will update - maybe every couple of hours or so.

Bloggiesta - I'm in!

I'm signing up for the 2nd Annual Bloggiesta. Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish over the weekend.

• Write reviews.
• Conduct and edit author interviews.
• Create template posts for my future reads
• Create a text file (or Google Doc) of cheat sheets (html codes, post url’s, etc)
• Improve my blog template, clean up sidebars, and install some plugins
• Add or edit my about me page, review policy, disclosure policy, privacy policy, and landing pages
• Clean up and update my challenge lists.
• Visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning and find ways to improve my blog.
• Clean out and organize my feed reader and blog subscriptions.
• Find a blogging buddy.

Sunday Salon - New Year Read-a-Thon Wrap up

Yes, I know that it's Monday.

I made a weak showing in the New Year's Read-a-thon. My weekend was more hectic than expected, so I only managed to get in about 10 hours.
The books I have read in the past week: I finished My Life as a Rhombus.

Books I am currently reading: I got a good start on Ask Me No Questions. I will probably finish it today.

Books I plan on reading this week: I'll probably select some short stories and kid's books to read for various challenges this week.

Challenges for the New Year

Happy 2010 to you all! This past year I discovered the Novel Challenge Blog. As a result, I found all of these intriguing challenges that I want to participate in. As a relatively new book blogger, I've probably bitten off more than I can chew, but I couldn't resist the ones below. I'm hoping that I can find ways to use books for multiple challenges.

The 3rd Mystery Read-A-Thon will take place January 16, 2010 to January 17, 2010. The goal is to read mysteries for 12 hours during those two days.

Kate from Kate's Book Blog is reviving the Short Story Reading Challenge for 2010. January 1 - December 31, 2010

January 1 - December 31, 2010 The Royal Reviews is hosting the Finish That Series Challenge in 2010. I plan to participate at the curious level. I'm thinking I'll work on the First Ladies Detective Agency, Jane Perry, and Cliff Janeway. If I start them next month, I can do it as part of the Mystery Read-A-Thon.

The Revisit Your Childhood Favorites Challenge encourages participants to read 5 books that were favorites while growing up. October 2, 2009 - June 30, 2010. I'm thinking I'll read some of the ones I listed during a mini challenge in the read-a-thon.

December 29, 2009 - December 29, 2010 Nicole at Linus's Blanket is hosting the Twenty Minute Book Club Challenge. I'm going for the Aluminum level. I'm thinking I'll read these books: The Unit, Speak, Black Hills Dan Simmons, City of Refuge, Unaccustomed Earth, Revolutionary Road

J. Kaye from J. Kaye's Book Blog is hosting the 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge again, where participants are encouraged to read from their libraries. January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010. Since I rarely re-read books, I'll likely obtain books for the other challenges from the library. Two (or more) birds with one stone!

Support Your Local Author Challenge. There are several kids books by Angela Shelf Medearis that I plan to read. A good friend just gave me My Life as a Rhombus, and since I love Evelyn Palfrey, I plan on reading Cougar Tales. I also found A Thousand Never Evers, Trudy, The Unexpectedly Bad Hair of Bareclona Smith, and How Many Kisses Do you want tonight? (which I can use in the Young Readers Challenge below).

Young Readers Challenge Hosted by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews, January - December 2010: Read 12 Children's Books

Aarti and Kristen are hosting the Flashback Challenge for 2010. This challenge is all about re-reading books. January 1 - December 31, 2010.This is not something I typically do, but since I read a lot of kids books to my kiddos, I figure I 'll re-read at least three books this year, so I'll participate at the bookworm level.

January 1 - December 31, 2010 The Royal Reviews is hosting The Audio Book Challenge in 2010. Since I do a lot of driving, I think I'll find a few audio books and participate at the curious level.