2017 Reading Challenges

Joining reading challenges has not been the problem for me. Getting all the reviews done or reading to met specific requirements has! This has not changed but it hasn't stopped me for trying. Looks like 2017 will go the same.

2009 :: 2010 :: 2011:: 2012 :: 2013 :: 2014 :: 2015 :: 2016

  :: 2017

Multi-Year
101 Fantasy Project, here ~ 10 years
Monthly Mix-up Mania, here ~ 4-1-15 to 3-31-17 . . . completed
Monthly Mix-up Mania - here ~ 4-1-17 to 3-31-19
A Non-Fiction Adventure, here ~ 5 years
Sherlock Holmes (all of them) - here - Jan 2017/2018

Perpetual
Cedar Cove - here ~
Magic Kingdom of Landover - here ~
Modern Library's 100 Best Novels - here ~
One Million Pages - here ~
PB&J - here ~
Prey - here ~ 
Read All the Books (back list) - here ~ 60 book
Redwall - here ~


Seasonal/Read-a-Thons

January

24in48 (Jan 21-Jan 22) - here . . . . over 
Bout of Books 18 (Jan 2-8) - here . . . . over
2016 Christmas Spirit (to Jan 6) - here . . . . over
2016 Whole Latte Christmas (to Jan 6) - here . . . . over
Winter's Respite (Jan 21-29) - here . . . . over

April - Spring into Horror (3rd week of April) - here . . . . over

June - Sci-Fi Summer (Jun 1 to Jun 7) - here  

September
Banned Books Week (Sep 24 to Sep 30) - here 
R.I.P (Sep-Oct) - here  


2017 Christmas Spirit (Thanksgiving week)
Christmas Spirit read-a-thon (Thanksgiving week)
FrightFall (1st week of October)
High Summer (3rd week of July) . . . . missed
The Sci-Fi Experience (Dec/Jan)
 

~ 2017 Reading Challenges ~

Keeping Track - here,  every book counts
 . . . .You Read How Many Books? - 200 books
 . . . . Pages Read - 36,000 pages
 . . . . One Million Pages - Goodreads group

JAN  |  FEB  |  MAR  |  APR  |  MAY  |  JUN  |  JUL  |  AUG  |  SEP  |  OCT  |  NOV  |  DEC

Format Challenges
Audio books - here - at least 1 book
eBooks - here - 101+ . . . page 1 | page 2 | page 3 | page 4 | page 5 |
Strictly Print - here - 52 books


Monthly Requirements . . . gave up on most
(I might get the books read but certainly not in the required month)
Classic Horror - here - 12 books (one a month)
Monthly Keywords - here - 12 books
Monthly Motif - here - 12 books
Reading Assignment - here - 12 books
GenreLand - here - 12 books
Read Your (Book) Shelf - here - 12 books
Ready, Set, Cover - here - 12-24 books


52 Books in 52 Weeks - here - 52 books ;-) . . . completed

Alphabet Soup - here - 26 books . . . 'J' is the only letter left!

Banned/Challenged Books - here - 2-6 books 

BetterWorldBooks - here - 24 books

Birth Year - here - 4 books

Book Bingo - here -  5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 books

Color Coded - here - 9 books

Cozy Mysteries - here
 . . . . Craving for Cozies - 1-10 (should do 50+)
 . . . . Cruisin' thru the Cozies - 10

Discworld - here -

Flights of Fantasy - here - 12 books 

Foodies Read - here - 9-13 books

In a Year - here - 45 books

LGBTQIA - here - read the list of 4 books

Location, Location, Location 
 . . . . Literary Escapes - here - 51 books
 . . . . Where are You Reading? - here - 26 books

Men in Uniform - here - 11-20 books

Mental Illness Advocacy - here - 4 books

New Adult - here - 1-10 books

New to Me - here - 

Outdo Yourself - JAN | FEB | MAR  |  APR  |  MAY  |  JUN  |  JUL  |  AUG  |  SEP  |  OCT  |  NOV  |  DEC

Paranormal 
. . . . Paranormal - here -
. . . . Witches and Witchcraft  - here - 6-10 books
          and Witchy Fiction
. . . . Spooks, Howls and Fangs - here - 20-40 books

Pervy Girl - here - 12 books w/reviews

Picture Books - here - 5 books minimum

Purrfect Reading Challenge (cat sleuths!) - here - 1-10 books

Read the Books You Buy - here - up to 20% (currently 6 books)

Reading Naturally - here ~ 1-3 books 

The Reporter's Challenge - here - 10 books

Re-Read It - here
 . . . . Read it Again, Sam - 16+ - complete
 . . . . #ReReadIt - 12, one a month - giving up, didn't understand the challenge

Review Challenges
 . . . . Blogger Shame Review Challenge - here - 12 ARCs
 . . . . Writing Reviews - here - 12 reviews

Romance
 . . . . Bad Boys - here - 5-9 books
 . . . . Contemporary - here- 6-10 books
 . . . . Historical - here - 1-5 books
 . . . . Historical (published before 2008) - here - 5-10 books

This Island Reader - here - 17 books  

To-Be-Read - here
 . . . . Beat the Backlist - 6 w/reviews
 . . . . Mount TBR - 24
 . . . . #RockMyTBR - 12, one a month
 . . . . The TBR Dare- 3 months with no new reads
 . . . . Shelf Love - 21-30

What an Animal - here - 21 books

What's in a Name - here - 6 4 books ~ (number in numbers, a building, cutlery, a compass direction)

Wild Goose Chase - here - 7 books

Wired into Sci-Fi - here - 10 books

The Book Monsters Review-a-Thon

This time you don't have to choose!

  

The Monster Thons are divided into two smaller Thons:

The Monster Read-a-Thon runs from November 9-15th.

The Monster Review-a-Thon runs from November 16-22nd.

You decide how much you want to participate. Whether it is just for a few days in each Thon or you only want to review… what you get done depends on you!

More information and a sign-up linky for the review-a-thon can be found here.

Twitter: #monsterRAT

Totally spaced on the Read-a-Thon and will be away from my favorite reading spot during the Review-a-Thon but I'm hoping to get at least ONE of my arc reviewed.

~ Books to Pick From ~

What the Duke Desire by Sabrina Jeffries
Cat and the Lady Killer by Lisa Orchard
Finding the Voice Inside You by Jill Birth
The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club by Duncan Whitehead
The Weight of Deeds by Eli Thorpe
Howard's Gift by Eric C. Sinoway with Merill Meadow
The Holder's Dominion by Genese Davis
Marilyn Monroe On the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2013

The Monster Thons are coming!

This time you don't have to choose!

  

The Monster Thons are divided into two smaller Thons:

The Monster Read-a-Thon runs from November 9-15th.

The Monster Review-a-Thon runs from November 16-22nd.

You decide how much you want to participate. Whether it is just for a few days in each Thon or you only want to review… what you get done depends on you!

More information and a sign-up linky can be found here.

Twitter: #monsterRAT

You know I'm going to do the Read-a-Thon but I'm hoping I can also get 4 reviews completed.

~ Books to Pick From ~

What the Duke Desire by Sabrina Jeffries
The Hiding Place by David Bell
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer
Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
Heart Secret by Robin D. Owens
Heart Fortune by Robin D. Owens
 . . . and a pile of library books
 . . . and a two+ foot stack of new paperbacks
 . . . countless review books
 . . . and even more ebooks!

what I really need to do is go through my challenges and figure out which ones I'm almost finished with and get to it. But, those new books are calling out to me and the library books are due soon . . .


ARCs to choose from:
Cat and the Lady Killer by Lisa Orchard
Finding the Voice Inside You by Jill Birth
The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club by Duncan Whitehead
The Weight of Deeds by Eli Thorpe
Howard's Gift by Eric C. Sinoway with Merill Meadow
The Holder's Dominion by Genese Davis
Marilyn Monroe On the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2013

RaT Update 3

Read-a-Thon & 
Review-a-Thon Update

Happy Friday!

M and I went to lunch instead of dinner for our anniversary. We also ran errands :p

The store I stopped at to purchase shoes didn't have to right color so I ordered them online. We did stop somewhere else and bought knee pads so I can play volleyball next week. :D

 I did stop at Danasquare to do a Mini-Challenge... Choose your favorite cover of a book you are reading or reviewing and explain why it's your favorite.


I commented that The Eighty-Dollar Champion was a favorite because it has a horse on the cover but I was sure I'd find another favorite once I looked at all the books.... Yup. I'd love to sit and read on the front porch of A Killer Read.





Finished another book but have lots more pages to go before I'm close to my page goal. Still haven't finished touched Code Blood by Kurt Kamm.

I have visited several bloggers and tweeted that I finished a book.

How are you doing?

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

RaT Update 2

Read-a-Thon & 
Review-a-Thon Update

Woo Hoo! I DOUBLED the pages read from yesterday. Yeah, that right, I read over 40 pages today. Fifty-two actually.

I woke up early for me, late for you and headed to my parents. Lunch with Mom then back to the house for visits. Before I knew it, it was 5 p.m. and my Dad was kicking me out. ;-)

I didn't play volleyball, several of the girls couldn't play so we put it off until next week. Which was a very good thing, my knees hurt and I didn't buy knee pads. I've got time to pick some up before next week.

Review-a-Thon goal: Finish and review Code Blood by Kurt Kamm. Progress? none.

Read-a-Thon goals: read twice as many pages as Summer Wrap-up (3.041 pages). Visit ten bloggers. Tweet updates.

Progress: Way behind in the page count. I did a challenge so that counts as a visit, right? Tweeting too, so I guess I just need to get busy with the reading.

Tomorrow is my 27th Anniversary. Dinner out on Friday will take away some of reading time (only if I want to look really nice) but I should be able to read most of tomorrow.

How are you doing?

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

RaT Update

Read-a-Thon & 
Review-a-Thon Update

Today was not a good day for books. Tomorrow doesn't look good either.

sigh

Today, I spent some time on the treadmill then 30 min on the weight machines. I ended my day with 90 min of volleyball. I didn't take knee pads (we played inside) and played barefoot. I've got scrapes on my knees and the tops of my feet, knees are banged up some too.

Silly me, I'll be playing volleyball again tomorrow after going shopping and to lunch with my Mom. Maybe I'll remember knee pads.

Did I get any reading done?

Yes. Yes I did. Twenty pages.

sigh

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon!

Yikes! The Book Monster's Pick-Your-Thon has already started!

The Book Monsters

Pick Your Thon

August 13-18

Sign up here, but hurry!

So to start off, create a post or comment below to answer the following questions.

1. Which thon are you choosing? Readathon, Reviewathon or both? And why?

2. Where are you from? You can be vague or specific, up to you. 

3. Say a little bit about yourself so we can get to know you if we don't already! 

4. What are you currently reading or about to pick up to read?

5. What are your goals for this Pick Your Thon?

1. I'm going with both. I'm already doing Bout of Books but hadn't planned on actually reviewing anything. Might as well overlap my reading and also review something.

2. Northern Hemisphere :-) ... Southern California ... LA area

3. never know what to say here...I love to read (duh), have a had time reviewing. I've started a running program and hope to drop 60+ pounds. Disappointed that gym time will cut into reading time but looking forward to hiking in the Tetons. I'm a SAHM of adult children, only one of which is still home. I'm owned by two cats. Have been married for 26 years. (OH! 27 years on the 16th)

4. I've got a huge stack by my reading chair and need to add The Big Kitty and A Killer Read to it. Code Blood is what I'm hoping to review this week.








5. I'm hoping to review Code Blood this week. I'd like to finish up a couple of challenges but since I was planning on being offline this month I don't really have a plan.

~ Book Stack ~
All Summer Long by Susan Mallery
Chihuahua of the Baskervilles by Esri Allbritten
When the Cookie Crumbles by virginia Lowell
Pies adn Prejudice by Ellery Adams
The Big Kitty by Claire Donally
A Killer Read by Erika Chase
The Last Patriot by Brad Thor
Power Down by Ben Coes
Hear Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
Divergent by ...Roth
Brave New World
Room
Code Blood
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Circles of Seven by Bryan Davis
The Eighty Dollar Champion

~ Books Read ~

A Natural Father by Sarah Mayberry bound with Edge of Forever by Sherryl Woods.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Summer Pick-Your-Thon: Wrap-up

Summer Pick-Your-Thon

Wrap-up

Pick-Your-Thon is hosted at The Book Monsters




 Waaaaa! ;-)

This week was really weird for me. I've been reading an on-line serial instead of something with an ISBN. I've got a stack of books that have been started but none of them sounded good. Checked my shelf, looked at the three books I bought this year, nothing sounded good. So, back to the on-line serial stories.

I was able to do several of the challenges, they were lots of fun, but as for reading...

I finished Consent to Kill on Monday and since then, less than 50 pages and nothing finished else finished.

sigh.

At least I was able to do the challenges!

Ready for the next one and hoping my book slump gets revitalized soon.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Mini-Challenge: Make a Poem

Summer Pick-Your-Thon

Min-Challenge #3
make a poem

Pick-Your-Thon is hosted at The Book Monsters

Mini-Challenge is hosted at Words I Write Crazy

Wait, what? I suck at poetry but now I have to use my titles to come up with something semi-poetry like? At least "for each book you have, you get a spare word so the poem makes a bit more sense. And to make it easier, for both sides, you can change the tense, like make a "fiery" into a "fire" or a "fall" into a "fell" if it makes the poem sound better".

I'll give it go but don't say you weren't warned. . .

Adam Orser: the Chronicles of Evolution by Daniel Armand
Code Blood by Kurt Kamm
Noah by Jacquelyn Frank
Seduced by the Wolf by Terry Spear 
Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Lemon Tart by Josi S. Kilpack
Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn
Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick
Cut, Crop & Die by Joanna Campbell Slan
The Bro-Magnet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Circles of Seven by Bryan Davis

Bro-Magnet was Seduced by the Wolf

Noah must Protect and Defend

Circles of Seven baked a Lemon Tart

Here Lies the Librarian

Code Blood causes Divergence

Cut, Crop and Die Adam Orser

Shelf Discovery

That's as good as it's gonna get. There is another option if you're picked Review-Thon.

Good luck everyone!

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Mini-Challenge: Cleaning up your shelves

Summer Pick-Your-Thon 

Mini-Challenge 

Day Two

today is about . . .

cleaning up your shelves

This is so not going to happen. The three shelves in the living room aren't bad but I've got books on my stairs and two bookcases in the computer room but a gazillion boxes in the garage and a storage unit. I've started but...


sigh.

That's not even a recent picture! I've added at least seven boxes to the unit and it doesn't look like I took any out of the house!

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

The Book Monsters Pick-Your-Thon: Starting Line

Summer Pick-Your-Thon

June 11 to June 16

hosted at The Book Monsters, Starting Line

Welcome bloggers and readers to the Summer Pick-Your-Thon! Both Kate and I are excited to get our reading and blogging on with you this coming week!

So, we're doing some fun things this time around, including a scavenger hunt with all the mini-challenges that will be hosted this week. Each post on our blog or by our mini-challenge hosts will have a letter for you to find at the end. Follow along and find what the letters mean (they won't be in order) and you can have a chance to win a book of choice from The Book Depository! Up to $15.

Make sure to follow along so you can win.

We'll have some other prizes throughout the week as well that you can win just by commenting or linking up to the various mini-challenges.

So to start off, create a post or comment below to answer the following questions.
1. Which thon are you choosing? Readathon, Reviewathon or both? And why?
2. Where are you from? You can be vague or specific, up to you.
3. Say a little bit about yourself so we can get to know you if we don't already!
4. What are you currently reading or about to pick up to read?
5. What are your goals for this Pick Your Thon?

1. I should go for the review-a-thon but I'm going to concentrate on reading with a couple of reviews thrown in.

2. USA. ;-) I live in California in the Los Angeles County area. Which is still pretty vague as LA county is HUGE.

3. SAHM of adult children. Love to read, craft, visit with friends. Learning to love the gym and have a love/hate relationship with my washer and dryer. One husband, two children and two cats. Dang, we need three cats or one of something else ;-)

4. Finished Consent to Kill today (and reviewed) and moved on to Protect and Defend. Both by Vince Flynn with Mitch Rapp as the lead main character.

5. I have a blog tour coming up so I'd like to finish Adam Orser by Daniel Armand and prepare the review. Also Circles of Seven by Bryan Davis and anything in my currently reading section of my Monday post and finish Protect and Defend. I'm also participating in Authors A to Z so I need to keep up with that. um, missed today :(



Day 1: E, (this post)

Day 2: S, post

Day 3: M, post

Day 4: U, no post - cover contest

Day 5: M,  Post

Day 6: R, Over? NOoooooo! Wrap-up post?

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon Wrap-up

Wrap Up
How did you do?

This is scheduled and I've been adding to it through the week. I don't know if The Book Monsters will have wrap-up post requirements or not. If they do, I'll just write another post ;)


Books read (goal 3):

Pieces of a Rainbow (4-8)
Splash and Elegance by Gabrielle Evans (4-9)
Protecting the Princess by Rachelle McCalla (4-9)
Quinn by R. C. Ryan (4-9)
Hiss of Death by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown (4-12)
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey (4-12)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (4-13)
The 4 Phase Man by Richard Steinberg (4-14)
wow, 1,919 pages! plus on page 77 of The Gardner Heist by Ulrich Boser

edited: It's closing in on midnight....I'm on page 155 of The Gardner Heist

Reviews Posted (goal 2):

Pieces of a Rainbow
Quinn

Mini-Challenges:

1. draft review posts. yes (The Gardner Heist, Adam Orser, The Book Lover)
2. Cast your characters. yes
3. ??
4. Redesign a book cover. no
5. Book recommendations. yes
6. Reading Challenges/NetGalley. yes

Non-read/review goals:

1. update the progress I've made on challenges. yes
2. Change around my blog roll. no
3. Read something from my TBR pile instead of brand new purchases. yes (The Hunger Games & The Gardner Heist)
4.
5.
6.

Original Book List:

anything on my Read but not Reviewed list
anything on my Started ... Finish & Review list
Harper trilogy (Pern)
The Lost Gate
....

At least I read the first book in the Harper trilogy



and through it all I was able to post my (semi-)regular posts on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday

That was fun! See you next time.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon Mini Challenge #6

Reading Challenges

Mini-Challenge #6

Emily at Red House Books talks about NetGalley Read-a-Thons. Explains the w's of it and how to join. For this mini-challenge....

To participate in today's mini-challenge, simply leave us a comment either telling us about other 2012 challenges that you are participating in, or if you use Netgalley, give us a quick helpful tip / trick that you use when requesting books or organizing them.

1. Other 2012 challenges that you are participation in

ahem, my 2012 challenge page is here. Between review books and reading challenges, I'm having a hard time re-reading the books I love. Every year I've said "no more" then find another challenge that would be fun.

This is the second read-a-thon I've done this year plus I'm signed-up for two more and another is planned for October.

There are five romance related challenges alone and the best part are the words "challenge overlaps allowed".

Yes, I participate in reading challenges. It's a love/hate thing for me. One, I don't have the time to re-read my favorites but, two, I find so much to enjoy that I wouldn't have read on my own.

2. Do I use NetGalley

Yes, but not recently. I have a hard time using the reading program and reading the books before they expire. No tips or tricks, I've gotten every book I asked for and one I didn't. Because of the time factor, I've stopped asking for them.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon Mini Challenge #5

Book Recommendations

Mini-Challenge #5

Kate has fallen behind in her reading and has asked for help....

For your mini-challenge today, I am looking for some book recommendations. It can come in the form of stand alones, series, a book you read yesterday or even years ago. The sky is the limit.

To complete the mini-challenge, create a post or leave a comment giving us your top 5 (or more if you have it) books/series guaranteed to please.

Books I still think about...books I'm rushing to get the next one.....books I read again and again


Quinn by R. C. Ryan
Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas
Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas
Stephanie Laurens: Devil's Bride (Cynster series), The Lady Chosen (Bastion Club)
The Quick and the Dead by Amanda Lee
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat by Sofie Kelly
Eyewall by H.W. "Buzz" Bernard
A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas
Cookie Dough or Die by Virginia Lowell
Mistaken Identity by Don & Susie Van Ryn, Colleen Nowell, Whitney Cerak with Mark Tabb
Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Key Trilogy by Nora Roberts
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (finally read it today....Book 2 tomorrow)
Tamora Pierce: Wild Magic, First Test, Alanna (first books in series)


Whether this will stay my "top 5" I don't know, but this is what I got right now. Just realize, what I love you may not but it's a place to start

edited to add:

The 4 Phase Man by Richard Steinberg
Greg Iles: Dead Sleep, 24 Hours, Blood Memory

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon Update

Happy Friday
How are you doing?

Update on where my posts/plans are.....

Goal 1: Read three books

Pieces of a Rainbow (4-8)
Splash and Elegance by Gabrielle Evans (4-9)
Protecting the Princess by Rachelle McCalla (4-9)
Quinn by R. C. Ryan (4-9)

Go me! All were started after the beginning of Pick Your Thon. Wonder how many others I can finish? (reading Hiss of Death, The Probability of Murder and Dragonsong)

Hiss of Death by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown (4-12)
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey (4-12)


Goal 2: Post two reviews...not scheduled but posted and the one scheduled for this week doesn't count!


Pieces of a Rainbow (posted Wed)
Quinn (posted Mon)









Mission accomplished.

wait

Mini-challenges?

1. (here) gather info for three reviews and create at draft post for each
2. Cast Your Character. check.
3. ???
4. Book covers? no

Be back for a wrap-up on Sunday


Original plan (with changes):

Sunday: Happy Easter...a funny & Ready, Set, Go
Monday: Mailbox Monday & What are you reading?, review of Quinn
Tuesday: Teaser & 1st Paragraph PLUS Mini-Challenge post
Wednesday: review of Liver Let Die, review of Pieces of a Rainbow, Mini-Challenge #2
Thursday: Purr-sday plus
Friday: Update
Saturday:
Sunday: RaT wrap-up

Books on my list:

anything on my Read but not Reviewed list
anything on my Started ... Finish & Review list
Harper trilogy (Pern)
The Lost Gate
....

Yeah, that worked! Read four books by Monday night and none of them were on the list


I also need to update the progress I've made on challenges. check

Change around my blog roll. nope, too busy reading

Read something from my TBR pile instead of brand new purchases. yeah....about that....Pieces of a Rainbow wasn't a just purchased book....does that count? Started A Grateful Death...on my shelf since April 2011.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon Mini Challenge #2

Cast Your Character

Mini Challenge #2


I like to watch movies but I don't usually remember who anyone is. :(

I went to google and while my main character is in her 20's, I searched for actresses in their 30's. Yahoo had a wonderful article about sexy actresses in their 30's so I checked out images and came up with ..... Penelope Cruz




She's a little older than my main character and her coloring is different but she has the strong, sexy, independent vibe going for her. Plus, I've seen her as a blond and it works.











My main character lost her mother when she was little. Grew up on a cattle ranch in Wyoming with her older brother and father. Her idolizes her older brother and they were friends. She even followed him to university. He died two years ago in a car accident.

Her father died last year in a freak ranch accident when his ATV rolled on top of him while looking for stranded cattle. He froze to death.

Cheyenne has grown up in the rough, male dominated, world of cattle ranching. Even the cook is male (and a good friend). She's had to continue running things after her fathers death and now there are unexplained fires. First her house, then a neighbors barn, her bunkhouse then she's kidnapped and the cabin she's held in catches fire.



Sure she had help but she had to be confident enough to be boss, make the hard decisions of life and death. I can totally see her in this role.
That was fun! Thanks Heather.

Dang, forgot to tell you which book!

Quinn by R. C. Ryan

The Truth Can Be an Irresistible Temptation . . .

As a young boy, Quinn Conway was shattered by his mother's mysterious disappearance. Today, as the oldest of the Conway brothers, his only concern is protecting his family and their ranch. One look at beautiful, strong-willed Cheyenne O'Brien tells him she's also no stranger to tragedy. A series of increasingly dangerous "accidents" are plaguing her and her land, and Quinn can't stand idly by while a woman is in danger. Fiercely independent, Cheyenne isn't one to lean on others, yet she can't deny her attraction to the rugged rancher offering help. Soon, the passion building between them proves as wild and untamed as the land she loves-and just as impossible to resist. But a relentless enemy is about to make one final devastating move. To survive, Quinn and Cheyenne must put their cherished freedom-and their hearts-at risk . . .

my review

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Pick Your Thon Mini Challenge

This is not a new idea. Pieces are from experience, others from Bloggiesta.

Getting Your Review Post Ready

Book reviewing is fun but the "paperwork" can be a real drag. I started off with a notebook and a sheet for each book received. That was nice for a while, put it's hard to put an electronic note in a physical notebook.

I'm on the computer....most of the information is on the computer....how do I take advantage of this?

Most of the books have been organized (which would be a whole post, or two, by itself) but there was still the pesky stuff needed before a review could be posted. Things like, publisher, ISBN, number of pages.... Stuff that could be gathered ahead of time, stuff I was writing in my notebook, stuff that could be looked up once AND ENTERED INTO A DRAFT POSTING!

I have blogger and am able to schedule posts years in advance. My post is saved as a draft with a far off date so it always shows up at the top. Waiting for me to fill in my thoughts and hit publish.

I wanted a more uniform look to my reviews. I played around with what information I'd like to tell you and how I wanted things to look and started typing.

The post "Thoughts on...title by author" is saved as a draft to be copied and then pasted into a new post for each review. There is a generic picture where the cover goes. A listing of possible labels. The general layout is ready for whatever info I have. I put "Title", formatted how I wanted the title to look with size and color, where I wanted it to go. Don't forget the FTC declaration. It's all ready to go, including reminders to myself.

It is wonderful to be able to fill in my thoughts on a book and hit publish without having to look up publishing details.

The Mini Challenge is this.....

Complete three drafts of books you'll be reviewing
AND
write a post about the experience
(if you already do something similar, tell us what you do to keep on top of your reviews)

Reward? You mean besides the satisfaction of a job well done? ;-) You'll get an extra name in the pot for Book of Choice at The Book Monsters!



I guess it should start off with....Do you have a uniform format for your book reviews? Even if your reviews look different, do you often include the same information? Seeing the draft at the top of my listings is also a great reminder that I haven't gotten the review posted yet.

Now, back to why we do this...

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Ready....Set....GO!

Woo Hoo!
Spring Break!
No School!
No Work!

Oh.

um....

don't go to school and I'm a SAHM so.... sigh.

Just what are my plans for this week?

My goal is to read three books and post two reviews. I already have a review scheduled for Wednesday so that one doesn't count :(

Sunday: Happy Easter...a funny & Ready, Set, Go
Monday: Mailbox Monday & What are you reading?
Tuesday: Teaser & 1st Paragraph PLUS Mini-Challenge
Wednesday: review of Liver Let Die
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday: RaT wrap-up

I'm also headed for the gym on Tuesday so I don't know if you'll actually see me Wednesday {blush} now, if only I can stop farming for the week..... (FB and FV is such a time suck!)

Books on my list:

anything on my Read but not Reviewed list
anything on my Started ... Finish & Review list
Harper trilogy (Pern)
The Lost Gate
....

Actually, I have no real plan on what I want to read this week. Wish me luck with my reviews and see you Tuesday for the Mini-Challenge!

edit: I also need to update the progress I've made on challenges. Change around my blog roll. Read something from my TBR pile instead of brand new purchases.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2012

Review-a-Thon Weekend Wrap-up

Monster
Review-a-Thon

Hosted by Kristen and Kate at
The Book Monsters

I'm very pleased that I got three reviews done this weekend but only one was from my "read but not reviewed" list. Another was an ARC so I'm very please with that.

I was hoping to do another but went shopping with husband instead :)


Short list of read but not reviewed:
Second Chance
A Modern Witch
Spin the Plate
The Man Who Loved Books too Much
Whiskey Gulf

Hope to read and review:
Yellow Moon - read and reviewed
Drawn to the Land
Christmas at Timberwoods

added:
How Many Cats? - read and reviewed
P.A.C.E. - re-read and reviewed

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2011

Thoughts on...Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Come, feel the rhythm of New Orleans!

Yellow Moon deals with Voodoo, death, destruction and a little sex. When else do you feel completely alive but during sex? Actually, there are only a couple sex scenes so you can easily skip them ;)

As for the other.....this is a horror book. Maybe not as scary as some, but still the blood and the mystical are strong parts of the story.

Live life large. Let the good times roll. New Orleans-her adopted home. The city where she felt most herself.

The song ended. Climaxing in a vibrato that left the audience breathless, whistling, stomping their feet, demanding more.

Marie Levant. ER Doctor. Descendant of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. Practitioner of Voodoo herself, her second home is the ER. She uses both her learned science and inherited sight to heal. Always, to heal.

When there is a strange murder, a detective arrives at the ER with a body.

"They said you were the right doctor for a weird death."

......The body wasn't much more than a skeleton, brown fresh stretched over bone. Lying on the gurney-bones stiff, skin deflated-the body seemed a cruel joke. A Paper-mache or woodcut of a body. A made thing, not a dead man.

The book isn't all blood and gore, there are several touching scenes with patients in the ER.

I don't normally read a series out of order. However, I was asked to review Yellow Moon and it is book two of a trilogy. Exciting? Yes. Complete on it's own? Yes. I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I love the dog's name and am wondering if it is explained in book one but other than wanting to know what came before and what comes next, Yellow Moon is a satisfying read all on it's own.

You might want to read this one during the daylight :D

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary review copy of this book without any obligation to write a positive review. The opinions expressed in this post are mine and may differ from yours. Book information courtesy of Simon & Schuster



Yellow Moon
by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Washington Square Press
ISBN: 1-4165-3711-2
Trade paperback
August 2009
horror
18+
304 pages


Product Description:

A jazzman, a wharf worker, a prostitute, all murdered. Wrists punctured, their bodies impossibly drained of blood. What connects them? Why are they rising as ghosts?

Marie Levant, the great-great granddaughter of the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau, knows better than anyone New Orleans's brutal past -- the legacy of slavery, poverty, racism, and sexism -- and as a doctor at Charity Hospital's ER, she treats its current victims.

When she sleeps, she dreams of blood. Rain, never ending. The river is rising and the yellow moon warns of an ancient evil -- an African vampire -- wazimamoto -- a spirit created by colonial oppression.

The struggle becomes personal, as the wazimamoto is intent on destroying her and all the Laveau descendants. Marie fights to protect her daughter, lover, and herself from the wazimamoto's seductive assault on both body and spirit.

Echoing with the heartache and triumph of the African-American experience, the soulful rhythms of jazz, and the horrors of racial oppression, Yellow Moon gives us an unforgettable heroine -- sexy, vulnerable, and mysterious -- in Marie Levant, while it powerfully evokes a city on the brink of catastrophe.

Yellow Moon is part two of the New Orleans trilogy that began with Voodoo Season -- magical realist fiction that takes the legend of the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, as imagined by Jewell Parker Rhodes in the bestselling Voodoo Dreams, into the present day.

I guess if you were extra sensitive to the "heartache and triumph of the African-American experience" you would see it in the book. I saw heartache and triumph and noticed the talk of slavery but, I'm sorry, I didn't see it as just the African-American experience. I saw it as a human experience.

copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2011