Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Big Kindle Boogie: W-i-n a Kindle Fire plus F-r-e-e Books


WIN A KINDLE FIRE IN THE BIG KINDLE BOOGIE

10 Free Kindle Fires, 75 free ebooks, a $500 library donation. Entries for 10 free Kindle Fires are already underway at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com. On Feb. 1-2, bestselling thriller authors J.A. Konrath, Blake Crouch, Scott Nicholson, Lee Goldberg, and Scott Nicholson are making 75 Kindle books free on Amazon. They are also making a $500 donation to the local library of one Kindle Fire winner. Contest is international, no purchase necessary. You can also join the Facebook party at http://www.facebook.com/BigKindleBoogie.

Three easy ways to enter:
Good luck!


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Monday, January 30, 2012

TTBA Weekly News: My Read-a-Thon Wrap-Up (no mailbox)

This feature was inspired by It's Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and by The Sunday Salon.

Last week was my A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon and it was a success! I had a ton of participants and I think everyone had a great time.  Although I didn't get to read as much as I had wanted, I enjoyed the week because I really enjoy hosting.  I guess that's obvious since I host four read-a-thons a year. ;O)


Here's what I read:
Read...Lifting the Wheel of Karma by Paul H. Magid--186 pages (REVIEW)
Finished...The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (started on page 99)--Total pages read 116
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (started on page 39) read to page 113--Total pages read 74

Currently reading:
I started The Secret History by Donna Tartt late last night after the read-a-thon.

Total pages read:  376 pages
Books read:  1. 75 (approximately)


My next read-a-thon will be in the Spring.  It will have a scary theme and I'm hosting at Castle Macabre.  If you haven't already, please take a moment to stop over there and vote on the name for the read-a-thon.  The poll is at the top of the left sidebar.  Please go cast your vote at Castle Macabre.  I really appreciate it! The official announcement for the read-a-thon will be posted some time in late February, early March.  Hope you'll think about joining me!


The Stephen King Challenge officially starts on Wednesday, February 1st.  It's a perpetual reading challenge so you don't have to start on the first day....the challenge runs indefinitely so sign up anytime.  Just want to get this out there so people will be aware.  I'm hosting this challenge with Kate from Read 2 Review.  To encourage regular reading of the books (because, let's face it, we all tend to procrastinate when there is no imminent deadline), there will be periodic mini-challenges with prizes and we will have occasional read-a-longs.  I will be participating, as will Kate, but we will be excluded from winning any prizes, of course.  For more information about the challenge and to sign up, please visit the dedicated blog.  I hope you will join us!



TuesBookTalk Read-a-Longs on Twitter (@tuesbooktalk  #tuesbooktalk) and on Goodreads is reading The Color Purple by Alice Walker in honor of Black History Month in February.  Our discussion will actually start tomorrow (January 31) because we are going to take Tuesday, February 14 off for Valentine's Day.  Chats on Twitter are at 10:30pm EST/9:30pm CST.  You do not have to join us on Twitter.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the Goodreads group if you can't make the Twitter chats on Tuesday nights.  Get the full reading schedule HERE.  Come read and chat with us!

NO MAILBOX MONDAY THIS WEEK--this is the first time in forever that I didn't get any books in the mail nor at library sales, Goodwill, etc.  I need to check my temperature!

I did check this out at the library though:

The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book by Timothy Beal




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A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon: My Updates

***This is a sticky post for my read-a-thon updates.  Please scroll down below this post for newer content.  Thanks.***


Update--Saturday, 1/28/12
Okay, so I started out the week with great momentum and quickly petered out to almost nothing. =O(  I'm still working on Gone with the Wind.  Here's my plan for the remainder of the read-a-thon and I'm sticking to it...
Catch up on GWTW...read to page 289 (Ch. 21) so roughly 180 pages
Tomorrow I'm cracking open The Secret History by Donna Tartt and I will finish it!

Update--Wednesday, 1/25/12
On Monday:
Read...Lifting the Wheel of Karma by Paul H. Magid--186 pages (REVIEW)
Read a bit of...Gone with the Wind--5 pages (LOL)
On Tuesday:
Finished...The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (started on page 99)--Total pages read 116

Running totals
Pages read:  307
Books read:  2
Currently reading:
Gone with the Wind (started on page 44) Note: will not read entire book--only catching up for read-a-long
Coming up next:  The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg

******

My Mini-Challenge participation:
Charla's (Book Talk with Charla) Mini-Challenge--Character Do-Over:

The Scarlet Letter--Hester Prynne
Hester is a succubus and seduced the Minister Dimmesdale into carnal knowledge with her.  After that, the bond was established and she slowly sucks the life from him over time, which explains his sickly condition.

******

Karla's (Book Addict-Paranormal Romance Obsession) Mini-Challenge--Love Sentence from book titles.  Since one of these books is about love, I figured this is a love sentence.  LOL!

Wild Mind:  The Secret History, Gone with the Wind

I did the best with what I had to work with.  If we could add some extra words, it would make more sense, like...A Wild Mind and the Secret History is Gone with the Wind.  ;O)

******
I started reading at Midnight (CST).  Yes, it's an all-nighter for me because I'm reading Lifting the Wheel of Karma by Paul H. Magid.  Starting my read-a-thon off right. ;O)  Here's what else I'm going to read this week:

  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (will read on Tuesday to catch up on my TuesBookTalk read-a-long)
  • Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (catch up for read-a-long with Kate @ Literary Explorations
  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt (this is my Just for Fun read for Dollycas's challenge)
I'm not going to list anything else right now because I have to think on it some more.  I'm so looking forward to this week though because I don't really have any major obligations so I'll be able to read, read, read....when I'm not too busy hosting, that is!

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A Winter's Respite: Post Your Wrap-Up and Final Winners

Winners of the Mega Mini-Challenge...the Covet/Cherish Challenge:


Risa @ Bread Crumb Reads

Ashleigh Oldfield

Daily Winners for the Final Day:


Julie @ Knitting and Sundries


Bev @ My Reader's Block   Bev asked me to pass her win on to another read-a-thon participant so I chose another winner and that is:

Tracy @ Just another bookworm's blog


Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!


******

I hope everyone enjoyed the read-a-thon and I'd like to thank you for joining me.  I'm still reading...extending my read-a-thon into the wee hours...and since I'm not eligible for any of my prizes, I guess that's okay.  I'll post my wrap-up tomorrow.

I'd also like to thank all the authors, bloggers, etc. who donated prizes and who hosted mini-challenges/giveaways.  Thank you for helping to make the read-a-thon a success.

Be sure to post your wrap-up with the number of books you read because Kate's (Read 2 Review) giveaway of Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate is for the person who read the most books during the read-a-thon.  Please place the link to your post in the linky below.

Looking forward--Many of you know that I host these read-a-thons seasonally and in the Fall I hosted from my brand new horror/speculative fiction blog, Castle Macabre.  It was a read-a-thon with a scary theme and it was a big success and a lot of fun.  So I decided to make my Spring read-a-thon scary themed.  The Fall and Spring read-a-thons will have a spooky/scary theme yearly and the Winter and Summer ones will be with a regular theme.  I have asked my readers to help me pick the name for the Spring read-a-thon.  You can vote on the poll at Castle Macabre HERE.  It's at the top of the left sidebar.  Now I know some people aren't in to horror.  No worries! My only requirement for a scary read-a-thon is to read at least one scary book and that does not have to be strictly horror.  It can be a mystery, thriller, paranormal, etc.  I'm also thinking about focusing this read-a-thon more on the reading and so the mini-challenges might be reading sprints or pages read in chunks of time or something like that.  I mean that is usually our goal during a read-a-thon...to get a lot of reading done, if possible.  Any input would really be appreciated.

Again, thank you for joining me for A Winter's Respite.  I hope you will think about joining me in the Spring or Summer...or both!

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

A Winter's Respite: Day Six Winners...and a little less than 24 hours to go!



Day Six Winners!


Melissa @ Must Read Faster


Gina @ Book Dragon's Lair



Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!

Don't forget!

All of the mini-challenges and giveaways being hosted at other blogs are still going on.  There are some great prizes up for grabs.  Check out the list at this POST.

My Mega Mini-Challenge...the Covet/Cherish challenge...is open until the end of the read-a-thon, Sunday at 11:59pm CST.  Check the details out HERE.


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Saturday, January 28, 2012

A Winter's Respite: Intro Mini-Challenge and Mini-Mini-Challenge Winners

The two winners of the read-a-thon intro mini-challenge (to post your tbr list and/or photo for the read-a-thon) are:

Justice @ Cheap Black Pens

Amber @ The Musings of Almybnenr   Amber asked me to pass her win on to another read-a-thon participant so I chose another winner and that is:

JP @ Elle Lit

The winner of the mini-mini-challenge is:

Tobey @ Reading Schtuff (entered via comments)


Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!


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A Winter's Respite: Day Five Winners and You Can Still Sign-Up!


Day Five Winners!


Celine @ Nyx Book Reviews


Jane Harfeld @ Jane's Book Blog

Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!

Don't forget!

All of the mini-challenges and giveaways being hosted at other blogs are still going on.  There are some great prizes up for grabs.  Check out the list at this POST.

You still have time to complete my read-a-thon mini-mini-challenge.  It ends this morning at 8:00am CST.  It's quick and easy.  Check it out HERE.

My Mega Mini-Challenge...the Covet/Cherish challenge...is open until the end of the read-a-thon, Sunday at 11:59pm CST.  Check the details out HERE.

You can still sign-up and participate in the read-a-thon.  Why not join us for the weekend?! If you decide to take the plunge, go to this POST to sign-in.


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Friday, January 27, 2012

A Winter's Respite: Day Four Winners and Final (Mega) Mini-Challenge



Day Four Winners!

Srivalli @ Valli's Book Den

TFrances @ Wading Through the Ocean of Life

Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!

******

On Wednesday, we had a mini-mini-challenge...fairly easy, not much effort.  Well, today for our final mini-challenge we have a Mega Mini-Challenge (sort of)! The object of today's challenge will be to show something we covet and something we already cherish.  And what is the object that we covet and cherish?  Why it's our home libraries! Here's what I want you to do:

  • Show/share what you covet...Find an image (Google images, photobucket, etc.) of a home library design that you covet.  Post the image in a blog post.  If you're not updating from a blog, you can just share the link to the image in the comments.
  • Describe what you cherish...If you're not up to taking photos of your home library or your huge TBR stack, you can describe your home library or TBR stack, either in your blog post or in the comments along with the link to your image of your coveted library.  OR....
  • Show us what you cherish...For those of us who are extremely boastful proud of our home libraries, take some photos of your library (or use images you've already taken) and add them to your blog post, or leave links to the photo(s) in the comments.

**You must do the 1st step above and one of the 2nd or 3rd step above for your challenge to qualify**
If you do a blog post for this challenge, add the link to your post in the linky below.  If you decide to just leave a comment, it should include the following:
  • link to coveted home library image
  • description of your home library/TBR stack OR link(s) to image(s) of your home library
  • your email address, in case you win 
This mega mini-challenge will stay open until the very end of the read-a-thon, which is Sunday, January 29 at 11:59pm CST.  There will be two winners drawn randomly from all entries via random.org  Have fun and good luck!


And now I'll share with you my covet and cherish....

I had to post two coveted home libraries.  I have such a huge amount of books (3000+), I was looking for designs that would hold a ton of books yet still look aesthetically pleasing.  I think these two libraries fit the bill.  Which one do you like better?



Now, it's time for me to show off the home library I cherish.  You will probably notice books stacked in front of many of the shelves and this is because I ran out of shelves.  LOL  I apologize for the quality of some of these images.  The cell phone camera isn't always agreeable!

 The corner shelf holds my collections 
of Anne Rice, Stephen King, and other 
authors and/or series books




 My Christmas books
 Some of my non-fiction
 More non-fiction



   Yes, I even had to utilize my coffee table!


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Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Winter's Respite: Day Three Winners


Day Three Winners!


Shaunie @ The Space Between


Melissa @ Jayne's Books



Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!

Don't forget!

All of the mini-challenges and giveaways being hosted at other blogs are still going on.  There are some great prizes up for grabs.  Check out the list at this POST.

My read-a-thon mid-week mini-mini-challenge is open until Saturday morning at 8:00am CST.  It's a really easy one.  Check it out HERE.

Good luck!


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Cat Thursday



Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)


A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon


Alice...my favorite read-a-thon companion!
She's thinking about nabbing Gone with the Wind...
And there she goes...(really she's trying to play with the bookmark tassel..LOL)




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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Winter's Respite: Day Two Winners and Mini-Mini-Challenge



Day Two Winners!

Bri @ Kindling the Fire


Abigail @ The Story Factory Reading Zone


Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!

Now...on to today's Mini-Mini-Challenge!


Here's what I want you to do: 

  • Take your current read and pick one sentence from three of the following pages:  page 1, page 77, page 179, page 255, page 360, or one from the 5th page from the end (I picked a diverse number for books of varying lengths).  
  • Take the three sentences and make them into a short paragraph.  If it makes sense as is, fine.  If not, you can add your own words or sentences to make it romantic, funny, scary...whatever.  
  • Be sure to bold and/or italicize the original text from the book or, if you leave it in the comments, put quotes around the original text.  
  • You can leave yours in the comment section below and/or post it on your blog.  If you do a post on your blog, add the link to the linky below.  If you don't have a blog or just would rather not do a post, leave yours in the comments and include your email address.  
  • This mini-challenge will be open until Saturday, (1/28) at 8:00am CST.  One winner will be randomly selected from all submissions and chosen by random.org  The winner will pick a prize from the PRIZE PAGE.

I will do my current read for you as an example.  I'm reading Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  The sentences I used are from pages 1, 77, and 829 (5th page from end).

Her eyes were pale green without a touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightly tilted at the ends.  They were eyes that would flash fire when she was angry or provoked.  She dragged her eyes away from his without smiling back, and he turned as someone called.  When he turned back around, he looked at her in an almost kindly way, speculation in his eyes.


Easy Peasy! Here's the linky:

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon: Mini-Challenges/Giveaways

UPDATED:  TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2012


Hi there, fellow read-a-thon-ers! Please accept my apology for the late posting.  I was on a deadline for a review today.  I started reading it at midnight last night and promptly fell asleep about a 1/4 into the book.  So, had to finish it today.  Now that it's out of the way, time to get down to business!

These are the giveaways and mini-challenges that are being hosted by other bloggers and authors...the generous souls. =O)  Thanks very much to all of them!

Giveaways
Author Mysti Parker @ Unwritten
Author Ami Blackwelder (comment on any blog post on her blog and mention you're a read-a-thon participant...read-a-thon-ers get 2 points for each comment...win Shifters Evolution 1-5)  Also, enter to win swag (info in top left sidebar) 

Mini-Challenges
Book Talk with Charla
Kate @ Read 2 Review
Karla @ Book Addict-Paranormal Romance Obsession
Author Nicole Chardenet @ Tongue of Dog's Breakfast
Lisa @ Lit and Life


There may be more added to this list later so be sure to check back.


All the prizes for the mini-challenges and giveaways I host here will come from the PRIZE PAGE.  


My first mini-challenge, posted today in the starting line post, was to do a post or link to your reading list, pic, etc. for the week.  You can enter this by entering the link to your post, Tweet, Facebook note, Goodreads read-a-thon shelf (however you are participating), at the Starting Line post HERE.  I'm keeping this mini-challenge open until Saturday morning at 8:00am CST for people who will only be joining us for the weekend.


If anyone has any questions, leave me a comment, tweet me at the #WintersRespite hashtag, or email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom.


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A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon: Info about my Mini-Challenges/Giveaways and Two Winners!


I finally got the PRIZE PAGE posted last night.  Whew...it was a monster! By my calculations, I have 19 book prizes! Thanks so much to the authors/bloggers/publicists who were so generous to donate.  So, here is how it's going to work:

  • Participant giveaways:  Every day (at the end of the day/night), I will choose two participants who signed in at the STARTING LINE to pick a prize from the PRIZE PAGE.
  • The first mini-challenge has already been posted.  It was part of the sign-in process...to post your reading list/plans/image/etc.  This mini-challenge will stay open until Saturday at 8:00am CST so people who are joining us for just the weekend can be a part of it too.  There will be two winners for this mini-challenge.  If you haven't done so yet, be sure to post your link at this POST.
  • I will have two more mini-challenges during the course of the read-a-thon.  There will be a mini-mini-challenge with one winner (probably on Wednesday) and a larger one at the end of the week with two winners again.
  • The number of winners could change (meaning=increase), if I happen to receive more prize donations during the read-a-thon.  
  • all winners are chosen randomly at random.org
Be sure to check out the mini-challenges/giveaways being hosted by other bloggers/authors at this POST.

Now, without further ado, here are the daily participant winners from Monday:

Senora G @ Telly Says


Head over to the PRIZE PAGE and pick your prize and then email me your choice at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom  Prizes are awarded on a first response basis.  Congratulations!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  Leave me a comment, catch me on Twitter at the hashtag #WintersRespite, or email me at truebookaddictATgmailDOTcom

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TTBA Weekly News and Mailbox Monday

This feature was inspired by It's Monday! What are you reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and by The Sunday Salon.

Today was the first day of my read-a-thon, A Winter's Respite, and it got off to a great start with all of the enthusiastic participants.  It's so fun when people get excited! I had a bit of a slow start getting everything posted, as I was working on reading a book for a book tour for today so I was late posting giveaways, mini-challenges, the prize page, etc.  I hope everyone forgives me.  Hey, I did finish a book though! You can read my review of Lifting the Wheel of Karma and enter the three copy giveaway HERE.  You can still get in on the read-a-thon.  It lasts through Sunday.  Go HERE for details and to sign-in.

NEWS


I recently announced a new reading challenge which I am co-hosting with Kate from Read 2 Review.  The Stephen King Challenge is a perpetual reading challenge and will start on February 1, 2012.  To encourage regular reading of the books (because, let's face it, we all tend to procrastinate when there is no eminent deadline), there will be periodic mini-challenges with prizes and we will have occasional read-a-longs.  Of course, I will be participating, as well as Kate, but we will be excluded from winning any prizes, of course.  For more information about the challenge and to sign up (I hope you will), please visit the dedicated blog.

EVENTS


If you haven't already, please take a moment to stop over at Castle Macabre and vote on the name for my Spring read-a-thon.  I've decided to make the Fall and Spring read-a-thons scary themed and the Winter and Summer with regular themes hosted here.  I want to pick a good name because it is probably what I'll use year after year.  The poll is at the top of the left sidebar.  Please go cast your vote at Castle Macabre.  I really appreciate it!


TuesBookTalk Read-a-Longs on Twitter (@tuesbooktalk  #tuesbooktalk) and on Goodreads is reading The Color Purple by Alice Walker in honor of Black History Month in February.  Our discussion will actually start on Tuesday, January 31 because we are going to take Tuesday, February 14 off for Valentine's Day.  Chats on Twitter are at 10:30pm EST/9:30pm CST.  You do not have to join us on Twitter.  Feel free to share your thoughts in the Goodreads group if you can't make the chat on Twitter.  Get the full reading schedule HERE.  

What I'm reading
You can check out what I'm reading this week for the read-a-thon in the sticky post at the top of the post section.  I will probably be adding to the list, as this week is relatively uneventful. =O)


Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia and is currently on tour. This month's host is Alyce from At Home with Books (want to read a book description? Clicking the book covers will take you to the book's page on Amazon)

BookBox: embed book widget, share book list

WON:
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa...from Good Choice Reading

Stay by Allie Larkin...from Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book
Lori also sent me some swag, some yummy hot cocoa and buttery Kettle Corn microwave popcorn!

BOOKMOOCH:
The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd

HISTORY BOOK CLUB (a back order from my earlier order):
Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

LIBRARY SALE:
Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper
I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company: A Novel of Lewis and Clark by Brian Hall
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
Wealtheow: Her Telling of Beowulf by Ashley Crownover
Extras by Scott Westerfeld
Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
The Daughter of Siena by Marina Fiorato


American Psycho (Uncut Killer Collector's Edition) got this DVD for $1.50!

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- See more at: http://www.techtrickhome.com/2013/02/show-comment-box-above-comments-on.html#sthash.TjHz2Px9.dpuf