Spring Reading Thing 2011 Wrap Up Post

I cannot believe Summer is here already. Spring Reading Thing is a reading challenge held every Spring and hosted by Katrina of Callapidder Days. http://callapidderdays.com/

I did not do very good sticking to my list. I only read four books from it. Here is a link to my original list. http://abookloverforever.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-reading-thing-2011-my-list.html

My favorites are in bold.

What I read this Spring:
1. The Glory of Green by Judy Christie
2. Bound by Guilt by C. J. Darlington
3. Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
4. False Pretenses by Kathy Herman
5. Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer
6. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot
7. The Final Summit by Andy Andrews
8. A Cowboy's Touch by Denise Hunter
9. The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
10. Point Blank Protector by Stephanie Newton
11. The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh
12. The Judgment by Beverly Lewis
13. Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer
14. To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer
15. Livvie's Song by Sharlene MacLaren
16. An Unlikely Suitor by Nancy Moser
17. The Lightkeeper's Ball by Colleen Coble
18. A Shore Thing by Julie Carobini
19. Fade to Blue by Julie Carobini
20. Undercover Pursuit by Susan May Warren
21. A Heart Divided by Kathleen Morgan
22. Secrets of the Heart by Jillian Kent
23. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
24. Missing by Lynette Eason
25. A Killer Among Us by Lynette Eason
26. A Great Catch by Lorna Seistad
27. The Corruptible by Mark Mynheir
28. The Officer's Secret by Debby Giusti
29. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (audio version)

My Summer plans include catching up on my review books, continue cleaning off my bookshelves, exploring audio books, and hopefully reading some spontaneous books. :)

Spring Reading Thing 2011 My List

Yay! I am so excited. Today is the first day of Spring and the start of the Spring Reading Thing challenge. This is my fourth time to participate. I love Katrina's reading challenges. Her buttons are always so pretty too. :) Her blog is http://callapidderdays.com/ and the official sign up post will be up this afternoon. She already has the information posts up if you would like to read them. The challenge runs from March 20 to June 20. One of the good things is your list does not have to be set in stone so you change it if  you need too. So I want to read all of the books below but with me starting online classes in April we'll see. I still love to read I just can't focus like I used too so the slump continues. I have a combination of non fiction, secular fiction, and Christian fiction on my list this time. I am hoping the nicer weather and this challenge will help me finish more books. lol :)

My Goals:
1. Read at least one book per week.
2. Don't give up because of school, work, life, exercise, etc.

My List:
1. Jump Off the Hormone Swing by Lorraine Pintus
2. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
3. Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst
4. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
5. 13 Rue Therese by Elena Shapiro
6. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
8. Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson
9. Angel Song by Shelia Walsh and Kathryn Cushman
10. Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry
11. The Mountains Bow Down by Sibello Giorello
12. Beneath the Night Tree by Nicole Baart
13. False Pretenses by Kathy Herman
14. Beside Still Waters by Tricia Goyer
15. The Glory of Green by Judy Christie
16. The Deepest Waters by Dan Walsh
17. The Cowboy's Touch by Denise Hunter

Spring Reading Thing 2011 Coming Soon!

I (Brittanie) love Katrina's reading challenges. I look forward to them every Spring and Fall. I am already working on my list. She has a great blog called Callapidder Days. :)

http://callapidderdays.com/

Essentially, Spring Reading Thing 2011 is a fun, low-pressure reading challenge open to anyone and everyone. It will take place March 20th-June 20th (which is, not-so-coincidentally, the spring of 2011).

If you’d like to participate, here’s what you need to do:

• Create a list of some books you’d like to read or finish this spring.
• Feel free to set some additional reading goals (such as reading to your kids two hours per week, getting through your pile of magazines, etc.). This is completely optional.
• Write a blog post including the list of books you want to read and any additional goals you’ve set, and get ready to post it on your blog on March 20th.
• Visit my(Katrina) blog http://callapidderdays.com/ on Sunday, March 20th to sign up. I’ll have a Mr. Linky set up that morning, so you can submit a link to your personal Spring Reading Thing post, and it will be added to the master list.
• Read! Work on your goals throughout Spring 2011.
• Report your results. Write another blog post in June to let everyone know how you did.
• Have fun! Visit other participants to see what they’re reading. Write reviews if you’re so inclined. But most of all, enjoy your spring reading.

A brief Q & A

Q. What is the point of this whole thing?

A. I started these twice-yearly challenges because I thought it would be fun to share my love of reading with other bloggers and to push myself to read some books I might not otherwise read, or to finish some books I had started and then abandoned & stashed under my bed. I thought there were probably others out there who would appreciate the accountability and encouragement that a challenge can provide. And along the way, I discovered there were lots of people who — whether they needed the extra push or not — loved to share what they planned or hoped to read during the upcoming months.

So that’s the point: sharing some reading goals with all the other participants and doing it in a way that works for you. If you want to push yourself, go for it! Or if you just want to share what you’re hoping to get around to reading before winter, that works too. The most important thing is to read this fall, to enjoy it, and to share that enjoyment with others.

Q. What if I don’t have much time to read and I only set a goal to read 2 books? Is that lame?

A. No, it’s not lame! Whether your list includes two books or thirty-two books doesn’t matter to me. Make the challenge work for you. Be reasonable. Maybe try to stretch yourself a little. But don’t stress about it. This is supposed to be fun.

Q. What if I get half-way through the challenge, realize it’s not working for me, and I want to change my list/goals? Does that mean I lose?

A. No! I don’t mind one bit if you change your list part-way through the challenge. The point of my challenges is to provide a fun and easy way for you to set some goals, work toward them, and enjoy reading. If your original list isn’t working for you, you’re likely to be miserable, which would completely defeat the point. Rework your list/goals and keep on reading.

Q. Do I have to review the books I read?

 A. Nope, no reviews required. To be honest, I usually don’t write reviews of the books I read during these challenges.

Remember: Katrina’s reading challenges are low-to-no-pressure.

Q. What should I write in my post that has my list and goals? Is there any special format?

A. Nope. As long as you include your goal-list of books, it’s entirely up to you. You might want to check out last year’s challenge page and visit some participants to see how they did it, if you’re not sure where to start.

Q. Do you have a graphic we can put in our sidebars?

A. Yes! Check out the bottom of this post for the code.

Q. Where can we get more information?

A. Well, you already have just about all the information you need. Check back here regularly, though — I’ll write about posting guidelines soon, just a few to-do’s that I ask you to abide by if you decide to be part of Spring Reading Thing 2011.