1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up Reading Challenge 2011

Do you want a chance to "advertise" your reviews/blog? Are you looking for some recommended essential reads? Do you want a chance to win prizes just for reading and reviewing books? Are you still a kid at heart or are you a parent or other adult who works with kids? 

In case you haven't already noticed, children's/YA books are my specialty, and sadly, when I was browsing this handy blog that has a compilation of reading challenges, I only came across maybe two that were specifically focused on children's books.
I did, however, notice the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die reading challenge (based on the list found in the book 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die) on Catie's blog, Pub Writes.
I thought this was a pretty spiffy idea, and I just so happen to own 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. So I'm taking Catie's idea (after adding my own personal touches to it) and running with it. May I present to you, my first attempt at ever hosting a reading challenge -

1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up Reading Challenge 2011

Rules:

• Sign up anytime between January 31 and December 30 (2011) using Mr. Linky below. I WILL NOT award entries into the giveaways (see below) if you are NOT signed up.
• The official start date for the challenge is today (January 31, 2011), but I will accept reviews done any time in 2011. 
• Grab a button to display on your blog. A post on your blog announcing participation in this challenge is appreciated, but not required. Just keep in mind, more friends, more fun!

<a href="http://ysprincess.blogspot.com/2011/01/1001-childrens-books-you-must-read.html"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9dAJnWx4-Ng/TUb9VNXw89I/AAAAAAAAADM/6nU_V2Zz2yQ/s1600/ReadingChallenge.jpg"></a>

• Read and review as many books as you want from the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Die list (If you do not already own or wish to purchase a copy of 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Die but would still like to participate in this reading challenge, a complete list of the books can be found here on listology*).

• I will be posting a monthly link-up-type-thing where you can come back and link to each of your elligible reviews. I will be having monthly giveaways for books that will work as follows:
• For each challenge-elligible book you have a review for (per month) you will get 2 entries (for books in the 0-5+ age range), 3 entries (for books in the 8+ age range), or 4 entries (for books in the 12+ age range) into the monthly book giveaway. (reward subject to change) 
• If you are reading a challenge-elligible book to/with a child and you include in your review the child's reaction(s) to the book (as I do in my Storytime Suggestion posts) or corresponding activities that go with the book, you will get 2 extra entries into the monthly book giveaway. And because I'm just so generous, even if it's NOT a challenge-elligible book, if you do this you can earn 1 entry (see? Even if you don't like ANY book on the list of 1001, you can STILL participate in this challenge!). (reward subject to change)
• Books from other Reading Challenges can cross-over, as long as they are from 2011.

*If you ever notice this link is broken, please let me know right away. I will either hunt down another link or type the list myself, if I have to. Also, if you are looking for titles by recommended age, contact me and I can break it down for you.

Reading Challenges 2010 - Wrap-Up

Well...I failed at all of my reading challenge goals for 2010. -hangs head in shame-

But at the same time I guess it's really not that big of a deal. I definitely read over 100 library books in story time, and I even read a couple more teen books than I officially "counted". My problem was that I couldn't bring myself to count them towards a reading challenge if I didn't review them (there's that perfectionist in me again...), since that was my whole reason for trying out the reading challenges - to find great (or not so great) books to review on my blog.

My life was pretty crazy for most of 2010. It had its ups and downs (thankfully more ups than downs) and I was a full time student and employee the whole year through. With any luck I'll pass the five classes I'm taking now and have at least the summer off to do whatever I want - like read.

All that being said, I'm not letting last years failures stop me from at least signing up for more reading challenges this year! I've managed to narrow my choices down to two challenges (plus the first one I am hosting myself), so look for that post soon-ish. I'm even going to try hosting my own reading challenge as long as the awesome graphic designer that is the love of my life can make me a button for it tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's what I did manage to officially accomplish last year (if you're interested in reading past reviews, I have a handy link to my archives in my navbar) :

Completed 4/12 Challenges 

Read & Reviewed 21/100 Books

Read & Reviewed 4/12 Books

Follow Friday - 1/28/11

It's time again for Parajunkee's Friday Follow! (Because it's Friday, so, obviously...)

This week's question is:

What is/was your favorite subject in school?

Well, at least this week I'm not afraid of losing followers... (see last week's post, if you're confused)
I think the last time I had a "favorite subject" was pre-high school. It was definitely history. I was homeschooled so I basically got to pick what I read/studied about, so I was pretty much obsessed with the Titanic and Ancient Egypt. I think I read every book (historical fiction and non-fiction) my library had on those subjects. I even made websites about what I learned about both of them.

I've been running aroud between work and I'm about to go take my boyfriend to his first ever fair (how can you not go to a fair in 25 years?), so I was a bit short on blog-time today, but I still managed to find two really neat blogs to follow:

Savannah at Books With Bite - I have no problem admitting that I'm a big fan of the Twilight books (especially working in the children's/teen department of a library), but I will admit, I've been getting tired of seeing practically nothing but vampire-lit published for teens. However, I found I really like the books Savannah reviews, plus I like her layout and think her vampire fang rating system is pretty awesome.

The Crazy Bookworm - I like so much, I think I'll just start from the top and work my way down...I like the header of her layout and the fact that she was able to find a "bookworm" who looks sexy, but not slutty. I like the font in the headers she uses for her posts. I like the features on her blog (like her Interview with a Blogger). I like the cute bookworms she uses for her rating system, and I like the books she reviews. Like. Like. Like!

Bloggiesta Wrap Up

And I thought last Bloggiesta! I did a bad job of getting stuff done...
This time around I actually took the weekend off of church obligations, and I think I still got less done than last time...

What I got done -

• Participated in Parajunkee's Friday Follow for the first time
• Found a new meme (Read My Review at A Trillian Books) and wrote a blog post for it
• Cleaned up my blogs I'm following & found a handful of new ones to follow (read my raving "reviews" about them at my Friday Follow post)

That probably took me just under two hours to do, and those are the only things I would consider directly blog-related. I have to say, though, that I loved being able to just be on Saturday. No school (probably not the wisest choice since I had to rush on Sunday evening to get everything done, but it was nice for a change), no church, no running around... And how did I spend my Saturday? Granted, I did try to start out the day blogging, but then my boyfriend's internet decided it hated me (should I count the time I spent trying to fix it as time spent on Bloggiesta!?), so I read. I read for hours, and I don't even read! I know, I know - slam on the breaks and back up, right? A blogger/reviewer/"librarian" who doesn't read? I guess I should really say I don't read from January - May. I used to love reading when I was a kid. My mom would take me to the library and let me pick out ten books to check out; I would take them home and have them all read that day (it's a good thing we lived about four minutes from the library). But then college happened. People tell you to read textbooks you're probably never going to reference again the rest of your life unless you come across a trivia question someday. I don't like being told what to do, especially when it comes to what I have to read. Therefore, the idea of reading for fun when I'm already bogged down with "necessary" reading for school (especially with now five classes and a full time job) makes me want to reach for a paper bag, and basically makes reading unenjoyable for me. Anyway, I read almost an entire book in one day, and unless it's the normal children's books, I don't usually do that. I haven't decided if I'm going to review it on my blog since it's an "adult" book, so I don't really want to count it towards Bloggiesta! time.

Anyway...

What I learned this Bloggiesta!:

• Quit trying to be such a perfectionist - Quality of posts should be better than quantity.
• One post a day when working full time, taking five classes, and...doing other things is something I should feel proud of.
• Quit going back and trying to fill in days that have already passed with new posts. People miss things that way, and it gets too stressful to feel like you have to play catch-up and write new material.
• Don't stop "advertising" your blog if you want more followers.

...Really just the excitement/anticipation of Bloggiesta! got me actively working on my blog again (even if it's not as much as I'd like), so I'm thankful for that. I've started to work on some of those "rainy day" posts, and I'm looking to start the 30 Days of Me challenge sometime soon, just to get me back in the habit of writing on a regular basis. And hopefully next Bloggiesta! I'll really be able to give it my best. If I pass the five classes I'm taking now, I'll be a 4-year graduate!

So, what did you learn this Bloggiesta!? Or do you just have other blogger knowledge/advice to share?

Read My Review - 1/22/11

Ever heard of Read My Review? If not, that's okay! I hadn't either until yesterday afternoon.

If you've ever wanted to partcipate in one of those "hey come check out my blog and follow me!" memes but have wanted a bit more...depth(?) to it than merely posting to your blog's homepage, you should probably check out the weekly Read My Review meme over at A Trillan Books.



 
To participate in the weekly meme and "advertise" your blog you must have a review that fits the weekly theme.
For instance, this week's theme is Contemporary Young Adult, so I posted a link to my review of This Full House (you're allowed to use new or old, bad or good reviews).

If you decide to participate, I'd love to know so I can go check it out.

Follow Friday - 1/21/11

[I'm pretty sure] This is my first time ever participating in Parajunkee's Friday Follow. I figured, what better way to spend the kickoff of Bloggiesta! than by letting others know that I'm back in business!

Apparently each week's follow comes with a question to encourage...I guess conversation?

This week's question is:

Who do you cheer for?

I guess I'll answer this question honestly, even though it will probably lose me a few old followers or put off potential new ones -closes eyes and holds breath- ... the Patriots. There, I said it. Against my boyfriend's (and about 98% of my other friends) wishes, I am, and have been for a while, a Patriot's fan. I think it happened during the 2004 Superbowl, when I SO greatly enjoyed dying my hair red white and blue in support of the team that I just decided they would be my favorite. During the next year I actually watched their games throughout the year and was just so impressed at how Randy Moss seemed to catch anything and everything that Tom Brady threw at him. Even though I was very upset that they got rid of Moss, I guess I'm still a fan. And contrary to practically everyone's opinion who hasn't known me since 2004, NO, it isn't because I think Tom Brady is hot (I'm pretty against guys having long hair as far as finding them attractive).

Want to know what other fantastic blogs I've found to follow this week (as a result of Friday Follow, of course)?:

Laura Ashlee at Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian - I'm just kind of in love with everything. The books she chooses, her layout is cute, I LOVE the owl that she uses in the layout and as a rating system, and hello? "future librarian"? So...me! I just wish I had an award lying around to give her!

Book Couture - I love how she's gun-ho on her first Bloggiesta! - She's an inspiration for me! I'm also digging her choices of books to review (YA) and the fact that she's okay with making posts of questions to her audience, rather than acting like she knows it all.

Jordyn & Yani at The Secret Life of an Avid Reader - I can'r believe I'm only their 12th follower! Maybe there's just something in the air about owls today...(go to their blog, you'll see what I mean) I love their headers and, again, yay for YA books! Plus, they're currently having a giveaway for Lauren Oliver's new release, Delirium. I've never heard of this particular YA book before (apparently that means I live under a rock) but it sounds awesome.

Bloggiesta! 4th Edition

It's baAack!
One of my favorite times of the year...
BLOGGIESTA!

Bloggiesta! is a weekend event (in this case, January 21st - 23rd) for bloggers to help motivate blogging, hosted by Natasha at Maw Books Blog. I have been participating in the event almost since it started (since the second edition), and always really enjoy it. For the first time, this year I have been able to block out most of my schedule for the weekend (though I do still have work today) - I have turned down dates and even requests to help at church, yet I still feel a mild sense of depression over the fact that I was not able to get all my schoolwork turned in before this weekend. 
...Note to self - Task 1 on the to-do list this weekend : Stop trying to be Superwoman.

Natasha's list of suggested things to do during Bloggiesta! weekend:

• Write reviews.
• Write backup posts for a rainy day.
• Write that great post idea from three months back.
• Work on series posts.
• Write guest posts.
• Put out invitations for guest posts.
• Conduct and edit author interviews.
• Create template posts for your future reads (ie: title, images, linking, tags, etc,) so you can open up, write review and post without being bogged down with technicalities
• Clean up your tags, archives, books reviewed list, etc.
• Create a text file (or Google Doc) of cheat sheets (html codes, post url’s, etc)
• Improve your blog template, clean up sidebars, add a favicon, install those plugins that you’ve been meaning to do.
• Add or edit your about me page, review policy, disclosure policy, privacy policy, create landing pages (for example – an about me for Twitter readers page) or any other pages you might have.
• Any bloggy type housekeeping that you’ve been neglecting.
• Clean up and update your challenge lists.  Link up your posts with hosts.
• Make sure all of your social network profiles are up to date.  Be consistent in those profiles with color scheme, images, etc.
• Go get a gravatar.
• Visit the Blogging Tips group on the Book Blogs Ning and find ways to improve your blog.
• Work on any specialized projects that you may have going.
• Clean out and organize your feed reader and blog subscriptions.
• Create an elevator pitch.
• Make business cards.
• Find a blogging buddy.
• Analyze and re-evaulate your blog.
• Back up your blog.
• Learn more about blogging, read great articles, get inspired.
• Make sure you have properly copyrighted your blog and know what to do when somebody reposts your material.
• Brainstorm blogging topics.
• Manage your feedreader.
• Help other bloggers, answer questions, share your expertise (let’s face it – this is the best part of Bloggiesta!)
• The sky’s the limit!

For more information and if YOU would like to sign up for this fourth edition of Bloggiesta! click here.

Happy New Year!

 

I know, I know - long time no post. 

I just wanted to wish any remaining followers a happy new year! (I spent my New Years Eve in Disney - I don't recommend it.) Also, between the weekends of January 21st and Valentine's Day, be on the lookout for some exciting news I'll be sharing here on my blog!