Lollipop Test

You Are Colorful

You have a vivid, magical view of the world, and you are easily entertained. You notice the brilliant little details that other people forget. You experience your emotions very fully, so much so that they often take on a life of their own. You've got an amazing life going on. If only everyone else had your bright point of view!

The Lollipop Test

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

Southern Literature Reading Challenge 2014

This seems like any easy one, since you must read between on and four books only.  And reading Southern Fiction should be fun, so I will give this one a go now.  I'll aim for four books since that's the limit; I think I can make it.  Sign up here.

PLEASE LINK YOUR REVIEWS ON THE REVIEW LINK-UP PAGE

It's that time again!

I'm hosting the Southern Literature Reading Challenge for the fourth year in a row. I can't believe it's been that long already!

The rules:

Read a book(s)--non-fiction or fiction of any genre, for any age group--written by an author from the South and set mostly in the South.

Definitions of the South are flexible, so I've decided to define it the way I want. That's the fun of hosting your own challenge, right? :-)

The states:
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
North Carolina
Virginia
Tennessee
Mississippi
Louisiana
Kentucky
West Virginia
Texas
Arkansas
Florida

Please keep in mind that this is a Southern literature challenge. It's possible to find books set in each of these states that are not Southern in nature or feeling. Use your best judgment when choosing your books.

Levels:

Level 1--C'mon in the house! Read 1 book.

Level 2--Pull up a seat and stay a while! Read 2 books

Level 3--Have a glass of sweet iced tea, honey. Read 3 books

Level 4--Y'all come back now, y'hear! Read 4 books

The challenge will run from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. You can join in anytime throughout the year.

I am not limiting the challenge to bloggers.  You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

My books:

1. The Sugar Queen--Sarah Addison Allen
2. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter--Carson McCullers
3. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe--Fannie Flagg
4. Gods in Alabama--Joshilyn Jackson

2014 Historic Fiction Reading Challenge Sign-Ups

This seems like a great area to read about so I will be doing this one now too.  I will go with the first level, but just may go over.  To enter this one go to Ramblings of a Daydreamer.

For the last three years I’ve hosted month-long challenges in July (the Canadian Reading Challenge) and October (the Spooktacular Paranormal Reading Challenge). I’ve wanted to host a yearlong reading challenge but all my ideas were for challenges that already existed. 

In 2013, my love of historic fiction was rekindled. When all the sign-up posts for 2014 challenges started going up, I noticed there were none for historic fiction. I searched and searched and even asked on Twitter, but as far as I can tell, no one is hosting one…so I decided I would. This will be my first yearlong challenge in three years of blogging, and I’m excited! I hope you guys are too.

~Challenge Details and Guidelines~

• The challenge will run from January 1st, 2014 - December 31st, 2014. Sign-ups will remain open until December 15th, 2014

• You don’t have to have a blog to participate, as long as you can post your reviews somewhere (GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc)

• This challenge encompasses both YA and adult historic books

• Any subgenre of historic fiction counts - historic romance, paranormal historic fiction, historic fantasy, etc. Time slips (where a character(s) goes back and forth between the present and the past) also count. Publication date doesn’t matter - whether it was published this year or thirty years ago, it counts.

• Any length and format of book count - audiobooks, ebooks, novellas, etc.

• Create a sign-up post for the challenge (or tweet, Facebook post, GoodReads status, etc if you don’t have a blog), include the graphic at the top of this post, along with a link back so other people can sign up, and be sure to tell us which level you’re aiming for (levels are below). You don’t have to list the books you intend to read, but you can if you want. When you add your link to the Linky below, please use the direct link to your sign-up post.

• At the beginning of each month, I’ll post a new Linky where you can add your reviews for the month. If you forget to link up one month, you can link up the next, just please don't link the same review twice. Unfortunately I can’t afford to do giveaways each month, but I’m hoping to do surprise giveaways* for participants, and there will definitely be a giveaway at the end of the year. The more books you review, the more entries you get in the grand prize giveaway!

• Reviews must be posted for the first time between January 1st, 2014 and December 31st, 2014 to count.

• If you’re on Twitter, feel free to tweet updates, reviews, etc using the hashtag #2014HFRC so we can all find each other and cheer each other on. I’ll randomly retweet tweets using that hashtag throughout the year.

• You don’t have to follow Ramblings of a Daydreamer to enter the challenge, but you might want to follow via BlogLovin’ or email so you know when the monthly link-ups are posted, along with surprise challenges or giveaways.

• Each month I’ll be updating the 2014 Historic Fiction Reading Challenge page at the top of the blog with everyone’s progress. Each person who posts a review will get their name added, along with all the reviews they link up each month - hopefully that will drive more traffic to your blog!  
  
  *If you’re an author, blogger, publisher, publicist, etc who would like to donate historic fiction books (physical, ebooks, audiobooks, anything) or swag as prizes for this challenge, or if you'd like to offer books for review opportunities to participants, please contact me at irishstar_83(at)hotmail(dot)com. For anyone willing to donate, I’ll do my best to promote your blog, book, website, etc., and you'll get special acknowledgements on the 2014 Historic Fiction Reading Challenge page at the top of the blog.

~Levels~
1-5 books ~ Testing the bonds of time

6-12 books ~ Slipping through time

13-20 books ~ Traveling back in time

21+ books ~ Living in the past

My books for this challenge:

1. Serafina's Stories--Rudolfo Anaya
2. Water For Elephants--Sara Gruen
3. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter--Carson McCullers
4. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe-- Fannie Flagg
5. Number the Stars--Lois Lowry
6. The Night Circus--Erin Morgenstern
7. Through a Glass Darkly--Karleen Koen
8. Jacob Have I Loved--Katherine Paterson
9. The Paris Wife--Paula McLain
10. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
11. The Red Tent--Anita Diamant
12. Pomegranate Soup--Marsha Mehran
13. Rosewater and Soda Bread--Marsha Mehran
14. Harlem Redux--Persia Walker
15. The Wednesday Letters--Jason F. Wright
16. The Postmistress--Sarah Wright
17. Mystery of the Dark Tower--Evelyn Coleman
18. Al Capone Does My Shirts--Gennifer Choldenko
19. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court--Mark Twain
20. A Single Shard--Linda Sue Park
21. Dream Tide--Robin Lee Hatcher
22. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch--Jean Lee Latham
23. The Black Opal--Victoria Holt
24. The Devil Wears Plaid--Teresa Medeiros
25. Magical Kittens--Donna Bell/ Catherine Blair/Joy Reed
26. Mount Vernon Love Story--Mary Higgins Clark
27. The Memory Keeper's Daughter--Kim Edwards
28. The Sherbroke Bride--Catherine Coulter
29. The Hellion Bride--Catherine Coulter
30. The Heiress Bride--Catherine Coulter

Vampire Challenge 2014

OK, I just have to do this challenge.  This is another reading genre I've become addicted to.  I've already read "The Vampire Diaries" and "Twilight," and started "Vampire Kisses" and "House of Night," but still have a way to go on those two.  And I would like to begin "Blue Bloods." This is just right for me.  Any others I have missed?  Please feel free to comment with some suggestions.

Visit Parajunkee to sign up for this one.  Details below, copied from the blog:

I stepped back from hosting challenges in 2013 and it was a big mistake. So, I’m bringing them all back. Including the VAMPIRE CHALLENGE, which was another one of my favorites. This is the official sign-up post for the Parajunkee.com Vampire Challenge 2014. Join me today in theVampire Challenge, where we celebrate those fantastically fanged peeps that are quite normal except for the fact that they spend a good bit of their time dining on A negative.

THE RULES:

1. The Vampire Challenge runs from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014
2. The challenge is to read 10 books that have a VAMPIRE as a main, or supporting character
3. Books can be in any format and should be at least 100 pages. Short stories do not count. You can also post about rereads.
4. Post about this challenge on your blog stating that you are participating or create a shelf via Goodreads, Booklikes etc. That post or shelf is the link that you will include in the link-up below. The link should be the post link not just your direct blog link. Please be courteous and include a link back to this post.
5. Post your reviews on the Review Post: Click here to log your reviews!

Here are my books for this challenge:

1. Awakened--P.C. Cast
2. Destined--P.C. Cast
3. Dragon's Oath--P.C. Cast
4. Hidden--P.C. Cast
5. Revealed--P.C. Cast
6. City of Heavenly Fire--Cassandra Clare
7. A Touch of Crimson--Sylvia Day
8. Blue Bloods--Melissa de la Cruz
9. Dead Ever After--Charlaine Harris
10. Dead End Dating--Kimberly Raye

Harlem Renaissance Challenge 2014

Yet another reading challenge--so totally addicted.  Though this blogger has me beat as far as the number of challenges signed up for :-) And I still don't know if I'm done yet ;-) This one looked like good one.  I like to learn abut other cultures and this is one such challenge.  It also goes quite well with the Diversity on the Shelf Challenge.   Since this is a new one to me, I'm going with the first level, though as always, I may go over.  To sign up, go to Dusky Literati.

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s. At the time, it was known as the “New Negro Movement”, named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke. The Movement also included the new African-American cultural expressions across the urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest United States affected by the Great Migration (African American), of which Harlem was the largest. Though it was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, in addition, many francophone black writers from African and Caribbean colonies who lived in Paris were also influenced by the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance is generally considered to have spanned from about 1919 until the early or mid-1930s. (Source: Wikipedia)

Last year I read quite a few books by authors of the Harlem Renaissance and in 2014, I want to delve deeper.

Details of the Challenge:

1. This reading challenge runs from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014 (books read prior to January 1, 2014 do not count towards the challenge). You can join anytime before November 1, 2014
2. Read fiction and non-fiction books by and about authors and other personages associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Feel free to expand to black writers from Africa and the Caribbean during this timeframe. The goal is to really immerse yourself in this era. For a list of books related to the Harlem Renaissance, check out the Harlem Renaissance listopia at Goodreads OR books from my personal library tagged ‘Harlem Renaissance’ on LibraryThing.
3. Books can be any format (print, ebook, audio)
4. Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed
5. You can choose your books as you go or create a list in advance
6. I will put up a post for reviews at the beginning of January

Levels:
1-5 books — New Negro (phrase coined by Alain Locke)
6-10 books — Garveyite (follower of Marcus Garvey)
11-15 books — Niggerati (This term is not meant to offend but was associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Phrase used by Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Wallace Thurman)
16+ books — Talented Tenth (phrase coined by W.E.B. Du Bois)

Once you pick a level you can go higher and read more books but you cannot go down a level.

Here is what I'm reading for this one:

1. Their Eyes Were Watching God--Zora Neale Hurston
2. In Search of Color Everywhere: A Collection of African-American Poetry
3. Harlem Redux--Persia Walker
4. Mystery of the Dark Tower--Evelyn Coleman

Day After Christmas

How was everyone's Christmas? For me it was quite low-key which it usually is.  My family and I had our usual white elephant gift exchange.  I got a popcorn machine--something I didn't think people used anymore (it seems like everyone microwaves popcorn these days!) And my aunt ended up with the present I bought.  I'd waited till Sunday till get my present and happened upon this Seat Pet as I entered Walgreens that day.  And on Christmas Day I saw "Anchorman 2." 

Today I got a call from a temp agency for a job starting tomorrow! Yeah!  I'm excited.

Romance Reading Challenge 2014

I had to do this reading challenge again next year.  I happen to read a lot of romances and this one encompasses all different types of romances as opposed to those challenges that just look at one kind of romance.   This is one that works just great for me.  I plan to read as many different kinds of romance as possible, including contemporary, historical, romantic suspense, paranormal, erotic, young adult and if I can find any, gay romance (can't seem to find a lot of those).  

To sign up for this one click here.   

Here are my books for this challenge:

1. Gone Girl--Gillian Flynn
2. The Night Circus--Erin Morgenstern
3. The Lemon Orchard--Luanne Rice
4. He Loves Lucy--Susan Donovan
5. Dream Tide--Robin Lee Hatcher
6. Lost Lake--Sarah Addison Allen
7. Tangled--Emma Chase
8. Love the One You're With--Emily Giffin
9. The Black Opal--Victoria Holt
10. Tangled Vines--Janet Dailey
11. Little White Lies--Gemma Townley
12. The Devil Wears Plaid--Teresa Medeiros
13. A Touch of Crimson--Sylvia Day
14. Dead Ever After--Charlaine Harris
15. Dead End Dating--Kimberly Raye
16. Magical Kittens--Donna Bell/ Catherine Blair/Joy Reed
17. Daddy-Danielle Steel
18. Mount Vernon Love Story--Mary Higgins Clark
19. The One & Only--Emily Giffin
20. The Sherbrooke Bride--Catherine Coulter
21. The Hellion Bride--Catherine Coulter
22. The Heiress Bride--Catherine Coulter

NOTE (11/23):  I still have a few romance novels that I plan to read this year (still working on the erotic Romance challenge), but the site hosting this challenge has been removed, and I've met my goal on this one,  so I will call the Romance complete.  Hoping to find a different challenge for romance reading for next year.