Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Some House-Keeping AKA More Plans for 2014...

Hosted by The Indextrious Reader

January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

There are a few ways to participate in this challenge:
Postcard Level:   Read and review books with a postal theme.
Snail Mail Level:   Read and review 8 books with a postal theme.
Parcel Post Level: Read and review 12 books with a postal theme.
Air Mail Express Level:   Read and review 12 books with a postal theme AND commit to sending more old fashioned letters this year. At least 12 pieces of mail (or more!), and you can share numbers or even images of your mail art in the quarterly roundups.
The key is to read and review books with a postal theme. These can be non-fiction on the subject of letter writing, collections of real letters, or epistolary fiction of any era. Be creative! Review each one and link back to the challenge -- there will be quarterly roundup posts for you to link reviews and posts to as you create them.

My Thoughts: um, yeah, this is so me! I love this and I am so excited and I have all ready been hunting down books! In a more coherent sentence format, I would love to reach the Air Mail Express Letter because I love sending mail! My Christmas cards alone, which some may be after Christmas cards, are more than 12... It will just depend on how my reading for the year goes. It also works out that two books I was considering for January fit the challenge.

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Literature and War Readalong 2014

Hosted by Caroline at Beauty is a Sleeping Cat.

The Books:

January: The Black Flower by Howard Bahr
February: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
March: March by Geraldine Brooks
April: Toby's Room by Pat Barker
May: Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
June: Fear by Gabriel Chevallier
July: The Lie by Helen Dunmore
August: Undertones of War by Edmund Blunden
September: My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young
October: Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey
November: Flight Without End by Joseph Roth
December: Letters from a Lost Generation by Vera Brittain and Four Friends

My Thoughts: I really hope I can stick with this because I would love to finally participate! I all ready have The Black Flower. I had to get an audio copy from Audible because it is out-of-print in Canada and my library didn't have it. There are a couple others I can't get easily either, but I will take it a month at a time. I own March and Phoenix and Ashes. I actually read My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You in 2012, I think, and liked it. I hummed and hawed but decided to get rid of it in my most recent purge. I guess it will be coming back for a reread! (I bought it for a few people after I read it, so someone will just have to lend it to me!) The book I am most excited about is Letters from a Lost Generation because I was saving it to read this year for the centennial and am tempted to buy it now instead of waiting... But, well, I have to wait...

Hosted at The Worm Hole.

January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014

During this time you choose a book to read from each of the following categories (examples of books you could choose are in brackets):
  • A reference to time (Eleven Minutes, Before Ever After)
  • A position of royalty (The People’s Queen, The Last Empress, The Curse Of The Pharaoh)
  • A number written in letters (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, A Tale Of Two Cities)
  • A forename or names (Rebecca, Eleanor & Park, The Unfinished Work Of Elizabeth D.)
  • A type or element of weather (Gone With The Wind, Red Earth Pouring Rain)
Extra information
  • Books can be any format (print, audio, ebook).
  • It’s preferred that the books don’t overlap with other challenges, but not a requirement at all.
  • Books cannot overlap categories (for instance my first example, Eleven Minutes, could be used for category 1 or 3 but not both).
  • Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!
  • You don’t have to make your list of books beforehand, you can choose them as you go.
  • You don’t have to read your chosen books in any particular order.
My Thoughts: I wasn't going to do another challenge and I probably won't complete most of these goals I am setting for myself.... But, I am going to try another because it is fun. I have joined before but I forget about it. I need to do better!!

A Reference to Time: 
A Position of Royalty:
A Number Written in Letters:
A Forename or Names:
A Type or Element of Weather: 

8 comments:

  1. I said I wouldn't commit to any more challenges for next year but that post-card one is *soooo* tempting. :-)

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  2. This sounds fun, but I am trying to avoid challenges and read by mood in 2014 -- enjoy

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  3. Like Diane, I would like to avoid challenges this coming year, but I always get caught up in the excitement of them so it's hard not to sign up for a few. I only did one challenge this year and I failed miserably (I think--I have to check my progress).

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  4. Oh I like the sound of the Postal Challenge! I've done What's In a Name before and had a lot of fun with that one. I'm still compiling my list of challenges! Have fun with yours!

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  5. These all sound like fun, Kelly! I'd love to do the war one, but I know myself too well--when I'm supposed to read a specific book at a specific time something inside me just rebels. :P I've only read one of the books on that list (The Killer Angels, which I actually just reread last month and loved as much as the first time around), but would really like to read several more of them. Anyway, good luck with all you challenges, and most importantly, HAVE FUN!

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  6. I am worried I wouldn't be able to find enough books for the postcard challenge, but it sounds awesome! I'll love seeing your books for this challenge.

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  7. LOL, I wasn't going to count Christmas cards for the Postal Challenge. I'm really looking forward to it, I've chosen a pile of real comfort reading for it, which should help me complete it.

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  8. So glad you're joining the Postal Challenge, Kailana! I love to see everyone's choices, as it just gives me more reading to check out :) Don't forget to sign up at the official sign up post so I can make sure to follow everyone's progress.

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