Read Your Freebies 2014

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014 (books read prior to 1/1/2014 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before 9/30/2014. Sign up on The Book Vixen’s blog.
• The goal is to read at least twelve (12) free ebooks. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you. You can move up a level as often as you’d like but no moving down.
• This reading challenge is for LEGALLY obtained FREE ebooks. We do not condone ebook piracy. These can be books offered through bigger sites, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or smaller sites, such as Smashwords and All Romance Ebooks. Ebooks offered through author or publisher websites are acceptable as well, provided they are available free to everyone at the time of download.
• Any ebook format will work for this challenge (azw, EPUB, iBooks, mobi, PDF, etc.). You DO NOT need to have an ereader to participate in this challenge. You can read ebooks using Amazon’s Free Kindle Reading Apps, which you can download for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, Blackberry and more. Free audiobooks also count towards this challenge provided they are free to the public. They can't be free as a condition of signing up for a service and they can't be provided by the publisher for review.
• Only ebooks and audiobooks that were available free, in a legal manner, to the public will count towards this challenge. eARCs, library books, ebooks free through Amazon Prime, and/or books won or gifted are not eligible for this challenge.
• Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
• Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, however, re-reads are not eligible for this challenge. The goal is to read the freebies you’ve legally acquired so that they are off your TBR pile.
• To join this challenge, grab the 2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge button 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 can track your progress on Goodreads, LibraryThing, BookLikes, Libib, etc., so as long as you have adedicated shelf for the 2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge and your profile is not private. The point of linking up is to have a place where people can see what you’re reading.
• Levels:
       Coupon Clipper: read 12 books
       Penny Pincher: read 24 books
       Buying in Bulk: read 36 books
       Super Saver: read 50 books
       Extreme Couponer: read 100+ books

I will try Coupon Clipper.  I will set up a shelf on Goodreads for this.

To join go to:

http://www.thebookvixen.com/2013/12/2014-read-your-freebies-reading.html

My Kind of Mystery Challenge

This is hosted by: http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/mykindofmystery2014 .

I am choosing Secret Messages to start.  This challenge is running from February 1, 2014 to February 28, 2015.

Book to Broadway Challenge

The challenge is to read any book OR play with a musical based on it, and then watch and/or listen to that musical. Sounds fun, right? This is a pretty specific challenge, without an enormous selection, but hopefully it’ll still be lots of fun!

This doesn’t actually have a specific start or end time, unless it would be simpler to stick to January 2014 – December 2014. I’m not picky!

Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, fairy tales, and short stories all count.

I’m personally only going to be reading books of shows I have seen or have access to.

Each book DOES NOT count until you’ve seen/listened to the musical.

Ultimately, have fun exposing yourself to excellent literature and musical theatre!

Sign up is at:

http://debzbookshelf.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-book-to-broadway-challenge.html

Alphabet Soup Challenge

The Alphabet Soup Challenge means that by December 31, 2014
your bowls must be full of one book for each letter of the Alphabet.

Each Letter Counts As 1 Spoonful

Details

This challenge will run from January 1st, 2014 until December 31st, 2014.

You can join anytime. You do not have to review the book.

You do not need to link up each spoonful.

Make a page or a post or a GoodReads shelf where you will keep track of your spoonfuls. I keep track of mine on my Challenge Page.

After you complete the challenge just come to the 2014 Alphabet Soup Page under the Challenges tab at the top of my blog and leave a comment with your completed list.

Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged!

It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet.

You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles as shown below.

So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.

A – How I plan to do it: Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

OR

B – Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A – Assaulted Pretzel by Laura Bradford B- Buried in a Bog by Sheila ConnollyC – Cat Trick by Sofie Kelly D – A Deal to Die For by Josie Belle etc.

Books can be read in any order and all formats – print – e-book – audio – are acceptable for this challenge!

Ready to join??

Bloggers grab the image below and make a post about the challenge to encourage others to join!

Non-bloggers you can join too! Just keep track any way you wish and enter a link below if available or sign up in the comment section. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads.com to help you keep track!

Need some help finding titles to match the alphabet – Jandy’s Reading Room has a wonderful list to get you started. X and Z were the toughest for me so this year I am going to try to take care of those two early.

Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book as there may be special announcements made about the challenge.

I will keep track below and on Goodreads.

A   Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon (basis of The King and I)

B   (The) Butler Did It By Kate Deveaux  (Not for anyone under 21)

C  Cloche and Dagger (Hat Shop Myster, #1) by Jenn McKinley

D   Dark Tort by Diane Mott Davidson

E    Effect by E. Harper

F   Final Catcall (Magical Cats, #5) by Sofie Kelly

G  Geared for the Grave by Duffy Brown

H   (A) High-End Finish by Kate Carlisle

I    Imaginary Friends by Darren Pillsbury

J  Johanna's Bridegroom (Hannah's Daughters,#6) by Emma Miller

K  Kismet by Carly Phillips

L  Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass

M  Murderous Matrimony by Joyce & Jim Laverne

N  Nine Lives Last Forever  (The Cats and Curios Mystery Series, #1) by Rebecca M. Hale

O  Orgasm University (Members Only, #4) by Jennifer Kacey

P  Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown

Q  Quiet Ops by Bob Burton with L.J. Martin

R  Ringing In Murder by Kate Kingsbury

S (The) Silence of the Library by Miranda James 

T Throw in the Towel (A Flowershop Mystery #15) by Kate Collins

U (The) Unorthodox Murder of Rabbi Wahl by Joseph Telushkin

V  (A) Very Single Woman by Caroline Anderson

W (The) Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson

X  Xs: An Allie Armington Mystery by Louise Gaylord

Y (The) Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick

Z  Zen and Xander Undone by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Don't Look Behind You

Don't Look Behind You by Lois Duncan is my book for the Horror at the Literary Exploration Challenge.

As far as April Corrigan was concerned it was the end of the world when she entered the Federal Witness Program.  She lost her name, her home, her friends and competitive tennis which was her passion.  Her father was a witness at a trial and someone tried to kill him and the hired killer would not stop looking for him.  Therefore the Corrigan's had to leave their home.  They were at a hotel and a hit man tried to get in but the agent protecting them got him away from their room.  Unfortunately, the agent was murdered.

They were relocated from Virginia to Florida.  April gave her name as April Gross to a girl on the plane.  When she meets her again, she has to lie and say it was someone else.  Then they went to Disneyland and April who was now Valerie Weber, and tried not to answer when an old friend called her April.  She lies to the friend and says they were just there on vacation and she would be going home eventually. The friend tells her that her boyfriend is seeing someone else.  Valerie does not like this so she decides that she want to move in with her grandmother who remained behind.

When she finally gets to her grandmother's she finds out that the hit man had been there and her grandmother had a broken arm.  Her grandmother decides to join the rest of the family in Florida.  

Many things happen along the way and when they get back to Florida.  I do not want to give away more of the story.

I read this book all at once.  I did not want to put it done.  It is well written and you wonder what will happen next.  It could be classified also as suspenseful as well as horror.

2014 Just For Fun

This is a Goodreads Group which commits you to read one book for fun each month.

2014 What An Animal Reading Challenge VII

Welcome to the 2014 What an Animal Reading Challenge VII.  The challenge will begin on January 1st. Read on for more details...

The rules are really simple...


1. Read at least 6 books that have any of the following requirements:


a. there is an animal in the title of the book

b. there is an animal on the cover of the book

c. an animal plays a major role in the book

d. a main character is (or turns into) an animal (define that however you'd like).

***** AMENDED:

Level 1 - Read up to 6 books

Level 2 - Read 7-12

Level 3 - Read 13 or more 


2. The animal can be any type of animal (real or fictitious)--dog, cat, monkey, wolf, snake, insect, hedgehog, aardvark...dragon, mermaid, centaur, vampire, werewolf...you get the idea...


3. Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. That’s a full year to read at least 6 books (you can read more if you’d like). 


4. Books can be fiction or nonfiction.


5. You may make a list of books at the beginning of the challenge or you can just list them as you find them.


6. Book titles may be swapped out at anytime (assuming you made a list to begin with).


7. Crossovers with other challenges are permitted and encouraged.


8. You don't have to have a blog or write a review, but you can if you want to.
 If you don't have a blog, just post in the comment section that you'd like to join. You can post your books in there. Or you can sign up by joining my group on Goodreads for this challenge by clicking here.

9. Books can be in any format of your choice (print, audio, ebooks)

If you'd like to sign up, please use Mr. Linky below. Please link directly to your post about the challenge and not to your main blog page.

There will be one linky to sign up, one linky for completed reviews and one linky for completed challenge wrap up posts

I am going to try level 2:  Read 7-12 books.  I will probably keep track on Goodreads. 

Completed Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge 2013

My books for 2013:
1. A Novel Way to Die by Ali Brandon
2. Buttons & Bones by Monica Ferris
3. Cat Spitting Mad by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
4. One Hot Murder by Lorraine Bartlett
5. Cat Laughing Last by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
6. The Big Kitty by Claire Donally
7. Murder on the Mind by L.L. Bartlett
8. Cat Seeing Double by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
9. (A) Killer Read by Erika Chase
10.  Killer in Crinolines by Duffy Brown
11. Cat Trick by Sofie Kelly
12. Read and Buried by Erika Chase
13. Murder of the Cat's Meow by Denise Swanson
14. Oak and Dagger by Dorothy St. James
15. Perilous Pranks by Joyce and Jim Lavene

2014 What's In A Name? Challenge

The basics

The challenge runs from January to December. 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)

Remember the titles I’ve given here are only examples, you can by all means use them if you want to – some are classics after all – but it’s not necessary. There are plenty of other books that will fit the categories and you may have some in mind already or even some on your shelves you can read.

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.

Everything else

On January 1 I’ll publish 7 posts, one for each category and one for your wrap-up post. These posts will be published as WordPress pages and linked to from one main post on the blog. You will be able to post your links to your reviews or leave comments, depending on whether you’re a blogging reader or a non-blogger reader. You’ll be able to find this main post through a link I’ll be adding to the navigation section of my sidebar. Alternatively, for ease, you might want to subscribe to this blog via Feedly or email so that the gateway post will be immediately available to you without you having to search the site. The non-Feedly feed link and also a Bloglovin’ link are on the sidebar.

If you have trouble finding a book for a category, have a look at the corresponding page for it here – readers who’ve already completed the category will have linked to their reviews and added titles that you can look through.

To join the challenge, sign up using the Mr Linky if you’re a blogger, and if you’re not a blogger simply leave a comment below. If at any time you have difficulties adding your link, email me at the address on my contact pagewith your information, and I’ll add it myself.

How to use Mr Linky: put your name and/or your blog’s name in the top box and the URL (web address) of your blog in the second box. If you have a Tumblr or use a Facebook page instead of a blog, use the web address to that instead.

How you link is up to you, but it’s suggested that you include both your name and blog name in the first box.

If you have any suggestions for this year’s challenge, let me know in the comments.

And remember that you don’t have to sign up today – as the challenge runs until the end of 2014, you can sign up at any time during the year.

Hope you enjoy the challenge and best of luck! The hashtag for Twitter is #whatsinaname – it’s used randomly for other reasons, but still it makes the most sense for this challenge. Sorry about the lack of line-spacing on the links, I don’t know how to change it.