#ReadingMyLibraryChallenge

I said to myself no more challenges, but decided to allow for some short-term ones.  With three already done and one to be over in April, I decided to give this one a try.

I already frequent my library but have only checked about a few books this month.  I wanted to try reading from my piles of books at home (I always join a TBR challenge and am making sure not to neglect it), and will try to do so for the rest of this month.  I need to read more for my Dystopian, Nonfiction, Mental Illness Awareness, LGBT, Graphic Novels, Feminism, Fairy Tales Retold, Curvy Heroine, Diversity, Erotic Romance and Classics challenges and have one more month for the Play challenge.  I don't own a lot of books that fit these challenges (in most cases, none at all), so borrowing from the library for a month will help me catch up on some of these.  I get most of my audiobooks and picture books from the library, and some of my other challenges have categories of books I will need to borrow.

I'm going to try to see if I can go without buying books for all of April.  Most of them I buy at second-hand stores, including one in my town that sells then for 50 cents to one dollar.  If I do buy any, they will not be read until after April.   I think I can do all this.

Here are the details for the challenge. Sign up by April 15 at Read What I Like.

Both Stefani at Caught Read Handed and Amy at Read What I Like work in libraries, where they order tons of books each month that come in and are put on the shelves. As any librarian will do, all the books they order are ones they wish they had time to read themselves but they seldom have the time to do just that. This challenge started in the comment section on a post about bookish resolutions – one of which was a book buying ban. What better way to save money on buying books than checking out books from your local library (or the one where you work)? Just in case it wasn’t clear – THERE IS NO BETTER WAY! The challenge started as a buddy read of library books and turned into a month long celebration of libraries and all that they offer. The hashtag #ReadingMyLibrary came out of the need for a catchy, simple hashtag and a desire to make it clear we appreciate our libraries. We hope you’ll join us!

Make sure you check out THE RULES and THE SCHEDULE and THE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE pages

More about the challenge:

• The #ReadingMyLibrary Challenge will run from Wednesday, April 1 – Thursday, April 30, 2015.
• You only have to read ONE (1) book to participate in the challenge! If you happen to read more, it just means more chances for you to win the #ReadingMyLibrary Challenge giveaway! You get an extra entry for every FIVE (5) books you read over that initial ONE (1).
• There will be HUGE library scavenger hunt that will run from April 15 – 30 which will include its own giveaway.
• There is no required amount of time you must spend reading, commenting, tweeting, etc. The scavenger hunt and giveaways are all optional.
• We would LOVE if you shared your TBRs, current reads, library recommendations, library pictures, or really ANYTHING you want to share about your library using the hashtag #ReadingMyLibrary!

Signing up is super easy! Create a post on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube (really anywhere that you can share something) announcing your participation and linking back to either Stefani’s or Amy’s sign up post. Post it and go here to link up! It’s that simple! (If you wanted to include the button/banner for the challenge and/or a list of your TBR, we’d love that too, but it isn’t required)

Here is what I am reading:

Week One (April 1-4)

1. Zoot Suit and Other Plays--Luis Valdez
2. Maigret and the Loner--Georges Simenon
3. The House on Mango Street--Sandra Cisneros (audio)
4. Just Desserts--G.A. McKevett

Week Two (April 5-11)

1. Strawberry Girl--Lois Lenski
2. Suddenly You--Lisa Kleypas
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian--Sherman Alexie
4. The Selection--Kiera Cass
5. Kira-Kira--Cynthia Kadohata (audio)
6. The Elite--Kiera Cass

Week Three (April 12-18)

1. The One--Kiera Cass
2. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop--Lewis Buzbee
3. Memoirs of a Geisha--Arthur Golden
4. For God, Country and Coca-Cola--Mark Pendergrast

Week Four (April 19-25)

1. Little Bitty Lies--Mary Kay Andrews
2. Bet Me--Jennifer Crusie
3. Hannah--Hannah Westberg
4. Don't Look Back--Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Week Five (April 26-30)

1. The Queen Geek Social Club--Laura Preble
2. Mama Cat Has Three Kittens--Denise Fleming
3. Madeline--Ludwig Bemelmans