Quentin: 14-16 Weeks

Likes: Arthur, snuggles, milk, playtime, being outside

Dislikes: Being cold, feeling sick, not being able to roll over

Brothers playing

Sleeping: Ugh! We had a few great nights of 6-8 hour stretches. And now we're back to 5 hours at the longest. Daytime naps aren't very good either. Somedays he only sleeps in 30-40 minute stretches. I was looking at a sleep chart the other day and according to the chart, Q is 9-12 months old. He's awake for 3-4 hours between naps and only naps for 45-60 minutes at a time. My goodness Q, act like a 3 month old please.

Posing with his new baby

Mid-clothing change pose

Eating: We're up to 6 ounce bottles consistently. And he loves to watch me eat. Somehow I don't think we're going to make it to 6 months before his first taste of real food.

Such stares

Playing: Slowly discovering toys. He really likes the playmat now, but not tummy time. He tries to grab toys and is sometimes successful! Currently his favorite "toy" is his little blankies. Lots of chewing on them.

Laughing

Such a cutie

Milestones: Rolling over a few times. Just like Arthur, Q's starting back to tummy instead of the usual tummy to back. He's also talking a lot more and focusing on objects and people for longer amounts of time.

Hanging with Great Grandma

Playing with big brother

Schedule: We're starting to settle into some sort of schedule. He's usually up for the day around 6 or 7am. About three hours later, he takes a nap. Then there's a little nap after lunch and another around dinner time. Q goes down in his crib around 9:30pm. We tried putting him down the same time as Arthur (8pm) but found that Q needed a bit of downtime before going to bed.

Twinning with Miss Stacey

Santa baby

Out and About: Q is officially a traveler! Unfortunately he's also earned his poo on an airplane merit badge. Not fun for mommy... Other than plane travel, we've his the grocery store and Target since being home. He also accompanied mommy to her stamp class. And charmed the pants off of all the ladies.

Check out that smirk

A Winter's Respite Readathon 2017

From Seasons of Reading:

Well, the holidays are behind us and we are now in a new year. Goodbye, 2016! Now it's time for some winter's respite and recovery. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you much health and prosperity this new year!

This is the official sign up for A Winter's Respite Readathon! Dates are January 16 - 29, starting at 12:00am Monday the 16th, and ending at 11:59pm on Sunday the 29th. Times are central standard time so adjust your times accordingly. Yes, the readathon is now two weeks long! I, for one, am pretty excited about that!

Of course, like most readathons, the books read must be novels or novellas, adult or young adult are fine, and you can read children's books too (as long as you do read some novels too). Note: Non-Fiction is also okay! You DO NOT have to participate the entire two weeks. Join in when you can, start in the middle, end early...whatever works best for your schedule. As with all of my readathons, it will be a time for relaxed reading during which we can personally challenge ourselves and whittle away our ever looming TBR piles/shelves/libraries.

Guidelines for the readathon can be found HERE or you can access in the tab at the top of the blog. Any information you need about the readathon can be found there. Please do be sure to check the guidelines to make sure you're following along correctly. There are specific rules regarding signing up and wrapping up, especially in regards to the giveaway. Also, regarding the giveaway, I'll be again adding a Google form to capture names and email addresses so if you're interested in winning a prize (and you've met the sign up and wrap up criteria), I will ask you to fill in that form which will be located on the prize page.

I will not be hosting any mini-challenges. However, if anyone else would like to host a mini-challenge or giveaway, you are more than welcome. I am also looking for prize donations so if anyone would like to contribute, let me know. Authors, this is a great way to promote your book! (Contact me using the contact form above).

Our hashtag is #WintersRespite Also, don't forget about our Facebook group. You can access via the tab at the top of the blog.

I need a good readathon to get to kick my January reading into gear. I think this is just the ticket.

Goals:

• Read 4 books/1200 pages
• Review all books read
• Finish at least two in progress books

TBR:

• Finish Buffering by Hannah Hart
• Finish The Bargain by Jane Ashford
• Finish Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
• A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
• A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron

Life Right Now #1

As I look outside my window: Back to sunny weather after that big storm last week. Loving the sunshine again.

Right now I am: Entertaining the baby with one hand, writing this blog post, and trying to enjoying my coffee. Mom multitasking as it's finest!

Thinking and pondering: How do we approach this summer and the changes in our family? I've got a lot to think about before I make any definite plans.

On my bedside table: A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander; The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

On my tv this week: Elementary; The Bachelor; The Great British Baking Show; The Good Place

Listening to: The Covers Channel on Sirius XM. Loving the random covers I get to enjoy.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• Tuesday - Vegetable Beef Soup
• Wednesday - Teriyaki Chicken
• Thursday - Beef Tips; Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread
• Friday - Munchery
• Saturday - Munchery
• Sunday - Munchery

On my to do list: Work on school stuff; make an appoint with the passport office; read!; meal plan the rest of the month; lots of crafting projects

Happening this week:

• Monday - Dropping off food to new momma friends; park playdate; grocery shopping
• Tuesday - Home day; housework
• Wednesday - Home day
• Thursday - Stamp club; possibly Mel's Play Place
• Friday - Home day
• Saturday - ????
• Sunday - Book club!!!

What I am creating: I need to finish my Project Life spreads for October to December. Also, I'm starting to work on my memory planner (in the Big Happy Planner). And I have a few SSINK design team cards to finish for January and hopefully get a jump on February's cards.

My simple pleasures: Brownies; sunshine (after being in gloomy Indiana for so long); fuzzy slippers; my bed

Looking around the house: I need tor restart a cleaning routine. Readjusting back to our home in California resulted in a changed in cleaning routine.

From the camera: Check out that little smirk!

52 Weeks of Arthur: W46-52

One of my 101 in 1001 Days goals is to take weekly photos of Arthur. I want to create a photo book for this year. Instead of posting them each week, I’m going to post in 9 week intervals. See W1-9 here, W10-18 here, W19-27 here, W28-36 here, W37-45 here. Without further ado, here are weeks 46 through 52:

W46: Blurry but such personality

W47: Showing off his iPad

W48: On the Train of Lights

W49: Zoo time!

W50: My cute lunch date

W51: Christmas Eve

W52: Goofing around at Grandma's house

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• Winter colds are the worst... Really hope this passes soon
• Potty training has started. So far, so good. But now I need to get Arthur to tell me when he has to go. We can't visit the bathroom every 50 minutes.
• I need to focus on carving out some time to read. Missing it.
• Slowly getting back into meal planning and cooking.
• Loving my new planner and all the accessories.
• Need to get started on my 2017 memory planner. I have some ideas...
• Pineapple hard cider -- very interesting flavor, but I like it.

The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

Title: The Cursed Child

Author: J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany

Publisher: Pottermore 2016

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 320

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Multiple Authors

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

I am very conflicted about this one. I was very excited to read this as I loved the original Harry Potter series. And so I finally started reading, and I was thoroughly disappointed. Most of the storyline is just a rehashing of the original Harry Potter series. Albus is just experiencing the same angst as his father. And it's super boring... The good parts of the play revolved around Scorpius and Draco. I would have loved to read more about their complicated relationship. I think Draco's growth throughout the original series and beyond is fascinating. I would have loved to read that play. Unfortunately, that's not the story we got. Therefore, I give this one 3 stars.

New Movie January #1-10

#1 The Spirit of Christmas (2015) "A woman falls in love with a man who is somewhat unavailable." -- While the premise is a bit ridiculous (he's a ghost, but not a ghost!), I really did enjoy this one. The romance was cute and the setting of the inn was gorgeous.

#2 Back to Christmas (Correcting Christmas) (2014) "A woman travels back one year in time to the Christmas before her broken engagement and tries to repair what went went wrong. She discovers that this is a challenging undertaking." -- Hmmm... the characters were pretty boring and I just want to punch the boyfriend every time he was on screen. Definitely not my favorite of the season.

#3 Christmas Belle (2013) "With her California hometown in the rear-view mirror, Belle heads north on business to facilitate the estate sale of a mansion. While the job is a dream, the client, Hunter Lowell, is not. But, as the two spend more time together, his icy demeanor begins to melt. Although their relationship is budding, Belle's long-time suitor, Tony, arrives, sending mixed signals to Hunter while adding chaos to the holiday season." -- Haylie Duff isn't my favorite actress (it always seems forced), I did enjoy the romance between the two leads. And I really really really want to live on that estate.

#4 A Christmas Kiss II (2014) "At a Christmastime event, Jenna shares an impromptu, unforgettable kiss with the dashing billionaire, Cooper Montgomery. Unaware of his intentions and fearful of getting hurt in another relationship, Jenna vows to resist his charms, but begins to realize his affection is real as the two spend more time together." -- Amazingly, I think I enjoyed this sequel more than the first one. Much cuter and the characters weren't as head-smackingly stupid.

#5 Holiday Engagement (2011) "Afraid to tell her family she's been dumped, Hillary hires an actor to play her fiancé during a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend at her parents' house." -- Not a very exciting one. I watched it but really can't say that it was good or bad. It just was.

#6 Begin Again (2013) "A chance encounter between a disgraced music-business executive and a young singer-songwriter new to Manhattan turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents." -- Been in my Netflix queue for awhile... An understated film, but I really enjoyed it.

#7 Carnival of Souls (1962) "After a traumatic accident, a woman becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned carnival." -- My mother's been begging me to see this for years now. Such a weird movie... Interesting, but weird.

#8 The Last Five Years (2014) "A struggling actress and her novelist lover each illustrate the struggle and deconstruction of their love affair." -- A bit of a mixed bag. I loved Anna Kendrick in this one and the singing was quite lovely. I could not stand the male lead. Something about him made me just want to punch him the entire movie even when the character was being sweet and sincere. So good and bad I guess...

#9 Man Up (2015) "A single woman takes the place of a stranger's blind date, which leads to her finding the perfect boyfriend." -- A refreshing take on the romantic comedy. I adore Simon Pegg and his character is a lot of fun in this movie.

#10 Daddy's Home (2015) "Brad Whitaker is a radio host trying to get his stepchildren to love him and call him Dad. But his plans turn upside down when their biological father, Dusty Mayron, returns." -- Movie night with the twins! This was laugh out loud funny. Loved it!

2017 Perpetual Reading Challenge

In an effort to move more books off my shelves and my never-ending reading lists, I'm once again to focus on reading from my perpetual lists. I hope to read at least 20 books from those lists. Tentative TBR:

1. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
3. Neuromance by William Gibson
4. Beauty by Robin McKinley
5. Across A Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
6. ????

2017 Picture Book Reading Challenge

From Becky's Book Reviews:

Host: Becky's Book Reviews (sign up) Duration: January - December 2017 Goal: To have adults read more picture books. To celebrate the fact that picture books are for everyone! Families are, of course, welcome to join in! # of books: minimum of 6

Option 1: BINGO CARD! Option 2: CHECKLIST (read as few as six, or as many as you like)

Feel free to copy/paste this. You can replace the _ with an X or a ✔ (copy/paste it) when you finish reading a book. If you list the books you read, that may help other people decide what to read.

1. An alphabet book
2. A counting book
3. Concept book: shapes or numbers or opposites or colors
4. A book set on a farm or in the country
5. A book set in the city or in an urban area
6. A book set at the beach, in the ocean, or by a lake
7. A book with human characters
8. A book with animal characters
9. A bedtime book
10. A rhyming book
11. A book celebrating art
12. A book celebrating dance
13. A book celebrating music
14. A book celebrating family (parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc.)
15. A book about feelings, expressing feelings
16. A book with a twist (unexpected) ending
17. A book about pets (cats, dogs, fish)
18. A book celebrating libraries or reading
19. A book translated into English (originally published in another language/country)
20. A book about trains or planes
21. A book about cars or trucks
22. A book about starting school
23. A book about friendship (sharing, caring, forgiving)
24. A book about being ME, about being unique, special, loved, etc.
25. A fairy tale
26. A twisted (adapted) fairy tale
27. A book about a holiday
28. A new-to-you author
29. A new-to-you illustrator
30. A book about new experiences (dentist, doctor, sleepovers, movies, playing sports, learning to swim, etc.)
31. A series book
32. A book celebrating food (cooking, eating, trying new foods, eating healthy)
33. A book published before 1950
34. A book published in the 1950s
35. A book published in the 1960s
36. A book published in the 1970s
37. A book published in the 1980s
38. A book published in the 1990s
39. A book published in the 2000s
40. A book published 2010-2016
41. A book published in 2017
42. A book by Dr. Seuss
43. A book by Mo Willems
44. A book by Jan Thomas
45. A book by Eric Carle
46. A book by Laura Numeroff
47. A book by Patricia Polacco
48. A book by Jon Klassen
49. A book by Beatrix Potter
50. A book by Kevin Henkes
51. A book written or illustrated by LeUyen Pham
52. A Caldecott winner
53. A Caldecott honor
54. A picture book biography
55. A nonfiction picture book
56. A book from your childhood
57. A book you discovered as an adult
58. A book celebrating writing, being an author or illustrator
59. A library book
60. An audio book
61. A book about dinosaurs OR dragons
62. Nonfiction book about animals (or animal)
63. A challenged book OR a controversial book
64. A book that makes you laugh
65. A book that makes you cry
66. Hate the text, love the art
67. Love the text, hate the art
68. A book with a great cover
69. A book with an ugly cover
70. A book about toys
71. A book about weather
72. A picture book for older readers
73. A book of jokes, riddles, tongue-twisters
74. A book about seasons
75. A song
76. A poetry book
77. A book by a celebrity
78. A book published in Australia
79. A book published in the UK
80. A book about science or math
81. A book about history or historical event
82. A book about sports
83. A book about celebrating birthdays
84. A book about a President or world leader
85. A book about another country
86. A book celebrating faith
87. A pop-up book, or, a book with cut-outs or flaps or fold-outs
88. A bilingual book
89. A television series that has been adapted to a book
90. A book that has been adapted to a television series
91. An adaptation of a myth or legend
92. A book about babies

OPTION 3: ABCs. Read 26 picture books, one for each letter by title and/or author.

Sign up by leaving a comment. Do indicate which option you're leaning towards. And if you have a blog, please leave your blog address so I can visit you.

Reviews are not a requirement. But if you do review, you can share links to your reviews. I'm thinking of having check-in posts on the 15th of every month.

With two young kiddos, we read a ton of picture books in this house. For this coming year, I'm going to push for Option 2 with a huge checklist of different books. Here we go!

2017 Library Love Reading Challenge

From Bea's Book Nook:

If you love to read and/or listen to books then you also love to buy every book you want to read. And, well, that puts a hurt on your wallet. Checking books (print, ebook, or audios) out from the library can save you LOTS of money and in most places getting a library card is FREE.

Details:

1. Runs: January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017. You can join any time.
2. Put a sign up post on your blog or (dedicate a Goodreads shelf or LibraryThing) and link it below. Make sure it’s public.
3. The goal is to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you.
4. Any format will work for this challenge (print, ebook, or audio); as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.
5. Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
6. Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads. The goal is to support your local library and save money.
7. Write a review - 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences. Not sure what to write? How about something like, "The plot was a delight, but the characters didn’t capture me."

Levels:

• Dewey Decimal: read 12 books
• Thrifty Reader: read 24 books
• Overdrive Junkie: read 36 books
• Library Card on Fire: read 50+ books

As an added bonus: We are offering up a GIVEAWAY with this Challenge. Winner will be picked at the end of the year!! The entries are the direct links to your book reviews and you will have until Jan. 2nd, 2018 to enter your reviews in the Rafflecopter.

What you could win: Winner gets their choice of 2 books (shipped from Book Depository) or ebooks (nook or kindle) up to $12 each. (Open INT)

Join the Goodreads Group Library Love Challenge, where we talk, share, and discuss the books we snagged/read during the 2017 Library Love Challenge - Click Here

To join this challenge, grab the 2017 Library Love Challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post (or to Angela's at Angel's Guilty Pleasures) 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 (as long as you have a dedicated shelf someplace).

I'm going for the Thrifty Reader level of 24 books. I always find something at the library to read.

2017 Graphic Novel Reading Challenge

From Graphic Novel and Manga Challenge:

It's time to start signing up for the 2017 challenge.  This is the 10th anniversary of this challenge and my 6th year as host

• Please write a sign-up post on your blog and then sign-up below with a link to your specific sign-up post (NOT to your home page).

• What counts:  graphic novels, collected trade editions, manga, comic strip collections, comic books or combinations of text and bubbles all in the same book. In print or digital. Anything else you feel is suitable.  My personal criteria is if it has either frames OR speech bubbles it counts.  I'm not going to be the comic police but if you are unsure, ask me in the comments any given month.

• You must write a review and link to it for it to count towards the challenge. Reviews may be posted on your blog or goodreads or similar places. Several reviews may be gathered and posted in one link on your blog, but each book must be linked back here in the monthly linkies to count. Come back every month to record your progress.

Here is how the Challenge plays out:

runs from Jan.1 - Dec. 31, 2017

Levels

Modern Age: read and review 12 books during the year (that's only 1 book a month)

Bronze Age: read and review 24 books during the year (Can you handle 2 books a month.)

Silver Age: read and review 52 books during the year (Are you up to a book a week!) Golden Age: read and review 104 books during the year (Are you addicted? 2 books a week!)

This year I'm going for the Bronze Age of 24 books!

2017 Wired into Sci-fi Reading Challenge

From Sci-fi and Scary:

This challenge was inspired by Abe Book’s 50 Essential Sci-Fi Novels list.

This challenge has 3 levels. Dabbler, Dreamer, and Connoisseur .

Choose a tier to aim for, and read an appropriate number of books from the Wired Into Sci-Fi bookshelf/list below.

Dabbler– Read 10 out of 30 of the Wired Into Sci-Fi Books. May DNF at the 33% point 2 times, and still have it count as a read. Any more after that, you must select an another book from the list to read instead.

Dreamer – Read 20 out of 30 of the Wired into Sci-Fi Books. May DNF at the 33% point 5 times, and still have it counted as a read. Any more after that, you must select another book from the list to read instead.

Connoisseur – Read 25+ books of the Wired into Sci-Fi Books. May DNF at the 33% point 7 times. Any more after that, you must select another book from the list to read instead.

Should you read all 30 books, you don’t get a special prize, but you will know you are completely awesome.

• You may note that most of these books are fairly well-known. That’s a deliberate choice, as they’re meant to be ones that are accesible. Not books you have to pay 15 or 20 bucks to get your hands on.

1. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
2. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #1 by Douglas Adams
4. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
5. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
6. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
7. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
8. Ringworld by Larry Niven
9. Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
10. 1984 by George Orwell
11. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
12. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
13. Ring Around the Sun by Cliffard D. Simak
14. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
15. The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
16. When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie
17. The Death of Grass by John Christopher
18. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
19. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
20. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
21. The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
22. Make Room! Make Room! by Henry Harrison
23. Logan’s Run by William F. Nolan
24. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
25. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
26. The Female Man by Joanna Russ
27. Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
28. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
29. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
30. Life by Gwyneth Jones

Chance to Win:(*age 18+, legal resident of the US)

Tier One:  A e-copy of Sci-Fi & Scary’s favorite science fiction novel.

Tier Two: Prize pack of 3  indie pubbed sci-fi novels that have received at least a 4* rating from Sci-Fi & Scary.

Tier Three: $25.00 GC to Thriftbooks.com

Challenge Ends: Dec 31st, 2017.

Participants have until Jan 15, 2018 to confirm  their completion.

Winners will be announced January 19th, 2018.

I'm going with the Dabbler level of 10 books. I would go for more, but I have so many reading challenges this year that I don't want to overwhelm myself.

2017 New to Me Reading Challenge

From The Herd Presents:

Welcome to the 2017 New to Me Reading Challenge!

This challenge is all about pushing your boundaries and trying something new! And author, a series, a subgenre, etc.

If you tweet or tag use #NewToMe2017

Anything "new" to you. For example...

--First time reading an author

--first book in a series

--first book you've read from a series (doesn't have to be book one)

--first time trying a genre/subgenre

--a debut book from an author (even if you've read them before)

*books need to be over 80 pages

To complete the challenge you need to read 12 books minimum.

You can pick any number of books above that!

In your sign up post please indicate your goal. You can always up the goal!

There will be three posts for the challenge.

Sign Up Post: Link your sign up post on this page once it's live (if you're not a blogger link a Goodreads shelf dedicated to the challenge)Mid Year Check in: First week of June

Wrap Up Post: Last week of December

*you can incorporate your check ins with monthly recaps/weekly recaps, with other challenge updates, or their own update.

I'm going to focus on new-to-me authors this year.

2017 Read Your (Book) Shelf Reading Challenge

From Gather Together and Read:

Taking the lead from the awesome book bloggers/booktubers who created the #RYBSAT (Read-your-bookshelf-a-thon), I've decided to start this new challenge starting January 1, 2017!

Here's what you do:

• Go to your bookshelves. Pick out a book that you've been wanting to read on a particular shelf.
• Now continue down that line of books on the shelf (in order) until you have 12 books.
• You will then read your 12 books over the next twelve months, one book each month. You can read them in order (forward or reverse), or you can plug 1 - 12 into a randomizer each month to pick your title for the month. The point is that you're not specifically choosing the book each month. It's chosen for you, either by ordered reading, or random choice.
• If you find that one of the books is part of a series and you've already read it, I will allow a substitution of another book from the series. However, if you find this happening (a whole series, several by the same author, etc) in the stack/shelf you chose, and you don't like it, I would suggest picking a different stack/shelf.
• What an awesome way to tackle books gathering dust on your bookshelves. Right?
• Challenge runs January through December of 2017
• You can cross over books from your 12 books with other challenges.
• Just remember to stick to the guidelines above.
• Easy peasy!

I need a bit of a kick in the pants to clear out my unread shelves.

2017 Back to the Classics Reading Challenge

From Books and Chocolate:

It's back! Once again, I'm hosting the Back to the Classics Challenge.  I hope to encourage bloggers to discover and enjoy classic books they might not have tried, or just never got around to reading. And at the end, one lucky winner will receive a $30 (US) prize from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!

Here's how it works:

The challenge will be exactly the same as last year, 12 classic books, but with slightly different categories. You do not have to read 12 books to participate in this s

• Complete six categories, and you get one entry in the drawing
• Complete nine categories, and you get two entries in the drawing
• Complete all twelve categories, and you get three entries in the drawing

And here are the categories for the 2016 Back to the Classics Challenge:

1.  A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2.  A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later, such as posthumous publications.

3.  A classic by a woman author.

4.  A classic in translation.  Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language. (You can also read books in translation for any of the other categories).

5.  A classic published before 1800. Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category also.

6.  An romance classic. I'm pretty flexible here about the definition of romance. It can have a happy ending or a sad ending, as long as there is a strong romantic element to the plot. 7.  A Gothic or horror classic. For a good definition of what makes a book Gothic, and an excellent list of possible reads, please see this list on Goodreads. 8.  A classic with a number in the title. Examples include A Tale of Two Cities, Three Men in a Boat, The Nine Tailors, Henry V, Fahrenheit 451, etc.

9.  A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.  It an actual animal or a metaphor, or just the name. Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, White Fang, etc.

10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary: The Wizard of Oz, Down and Out in Paris and London, Death on the Nile, etc.

11. An award-winning classic. It could be the Newbery award, the Prix Goncourt, the Pulitzer Prize, the James Tait Award, etc. Any award, just mention in your blog post what award your choice received.

12. A Russian Classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author. And now, the rest of the rules:

• All books must be read in 2017. Books started before January 1, 2017 do not qualify. All reviews must be linked to this challenge by December 31, 2017. I'll post links each category the first week of January which will be featured on a sidebar on this blog for the entire year.

• You must also post a wrap-up review and link it to the challenge no later than December 31, 2017. Please include links within your final wrap-up to that I can easily confirm all your categories. 

• All books must have been written at least 50 years ago; therefore, books must have been written by 1967 to qualify for this challenge. The ONLY exceptions are books published posthumously.

• E-books and audiobooks are eligible! You may also count books that you read for other challenges.

• Books may NOT cross over within this challenge. You must read a different book for EACH category, or it doesn't count.

• Children's classics are acceptable, but please, no more than 3 total for the challenge.

• If you do not have a blog, you may link to reviews on Goodreads or any other publicly accessible online format.

• The deadline to sign up for the challenge is March 1, 2017. After that, I will close the link and you'll have to wait until the next year! Please include a link to your original sign-up post, not your blog URL. Also, make sure you add your link to the Linky below, NOT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. If I don't see your name in the original Linky, YOU WILL BE INELIGIBLE. If you've made a mistake with your link, just add a second one.

• You do NOT have to list all the books you're going to read for the challenge in your sign-up post, but it's more fun if you do! Of course, you can change your list any time. Books may also be read in any order.

• The winner will be announced on this blog the first week of January, 2018. All qualifying participants will receive one or more entries, depending on the number of categories completed. One winner will be selected at random for all qualifying entries. The winner will receive a gift certificate in the amount of $30 (US currency) from either Amazon.com OR $30 worth of books from The Book Depository. The winner MUST live in a country that will receive shipments from one or the other. For a list of countries that receive shipments from The Book Depository, click here.

After taking a year off from this challenge, I'm back in!

2017 Discworld Reading Challenge

From An Armchair by the Sea:

You guys know how I like to take words, add 'athon' and turn them into hashtags right? Welcome to #discworldathon 2017! The details for this are by no means finalised yet, but my general idea is that I want to read a lot of Terry Pratchett's books in 2017. I've really enjoyed our Little House Read-Along this year and I want to stick with the theme of reading a series.

However, as you're probably aware if you're at all familiar with Terry Pratchett, giving this event structure is a bit of a tall order as there are fourty one Discworld books, and so I've decided to just...not. Well, not really.

Basically I'd like the event to just be a year long celebration of the genius of Terry Pratchett. I want to read lots of his excellent, hilarious books, talk to lots of other people who love his work, probably watch and listen to lots of adaptations of his work (maybe as a group via twitter or something) and give away lots of great and gorgeous Discworld related stuff. I don't want people to get caught up in rules and regulations, so pretty much sign up if you want to read lots of Pratchett and talk about it with people!

That said, for those who like the rules and challenges, I will probably be coming up with different levels you can complete and/or themed months and such over the next couple of months so watch this space! This post is really just general thoughts and a place to register your interest! If you'd like to be involved with organisation (such as it is) or hosting giveaways etc please let me know in the comments or get in touch on twitter!

Whether you blog, tweet, vlog, instagram, loiter round the internet, whatever, whether you've read everything Terry Pratchett ever wrote, never read any of it, or tried one once and gave up, you're welcome to join! Just link up to some kind of place we can find you in the linky below so we can all say hi and chat.

J has been wanting me to dive in Pratchett for years now. Seems like 2017 is a good a time as any to dive in. My only issue will be in what order to read the books. There are multiple paths as evidenced by the graphic below. I may just start with The Colour of Magic...

2017 What's in a Name Reading Challenge

From The Worm Hole:

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 – translations and other languages most definitely count!):

• A number in numbers (84, Charing Cross Road; 12 Years A Slave; 31 Dream Street)
• A building (The Old Curiosity Shop; I Capture The Castle; House Of Shadows; The Invisible Library; Jamaica Inn)
• A title which has an ‘X’ somewhere in it (The Girl Next Door; The Running Vixen)
• A compass direction (North and South; Guardians Of The West; The Shadow In The North; NW)
• An item/items of cutlery (The Subtle Knife; Our Spoons Came From Woolworths)
• A title in which at least two words share the same first letter – alliteration! (The Great Gatsby; The Luminous Life Of Lilly Aphrodite; Gone Girl; The Cuckoo’s Calling)

As usual I’ve tried to include some easy categories and some not so. Remember the titles I’ve given here are only examples, you can by all means use them if you want to 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.

Yep, I'll be joining once again this year...

2017 Retellings Reading Challenge

From Once Upon a Bookcase:

The Retellings Reading Challenge is back again for 2017, and this time it's bigger and better! Thanks to a lovely bunch of publishers, this year's challenge will come with monthly giveaways* for UK entrants!

The Challenge:

• For readers to read retellings of stories we know well from their chosen level in 2016:
  • Easy: 1-4 retellings
  • Medium: 5-8 retellings
  • Hard: 9-12 retellings
  • Difficult: 12+ retellings

The Rules:

• You must sign up to the challenge below.
• You must share your thoughts/reviews on the retellings you read for the book to count. You can post anywhere: your blog, YouTube, Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Tumblr, etc.
• As you review the books, update the monthly link up post with a link to your review. This is important, as each book you review will be an entry into that month's giveaway.
• You can sign up any time between now and 31st December 2017.
• Use the hashtag #RetellingsRC2017 so we can follow your participation in the challenge!

Which Books Count:

• You can read retellings of any of the following (if I've left anything out, please let me know!):
  • Classics & Children's Classics
  • Fairy Tales
  • Myths and Legends
  • Folk Tales
  • Retellings of real, well known people's lives - I.E. Becoming Jane by Kevin Hood about a young Jane Austen, and And I Darken by Kirsten White, a gender bent retelling of Vald Dracul's teen years, both count
  • I will also accept origin stories/prequels/sequels - I.E. Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige is a sequel series to The Wizard of Oz, Heartless by Marissa Meyer is a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the origin story of the Queen of Hearts, and both would count.
  • Reimaginings that aren't strict retellings would also count - I.E. Kody Keplinger's novels Shut Out and A Midsummer's Nightmare are both reimaginings, the first of the Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, and the second of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, both of which would count.
  • You can read any retellings you want, they do not need to be recent releases to count.
  • Feel free to re-read any retellings! They will also count, as long as you review them somewhere.
  • All age categories are accepted; middle grade/young fiction, YA, NA, adult.
  • All books count; physical books, audiobooks, eBooks.
  • ARCs/Proofs count, as do self-published books.

To Sign Up:

• Write a blog post/page, record a video, or upload a photo to Instagram about your participation in the challenge. This is important, you must do this. (If you're using Goodreads, Amazon, or any other platform that doesn't allow you to do this, in the link up below, just link to your public profile.)
• If you wish, in that post/page/video you can compile a list of retellings that you hope to read and review for the challenge - but this isn't compulsory. Also, the titles you list do not have to be set in stone. If you'd like some inspiration, Goodreads has a number of lists on retellings you can browse.
• Comment below to say you're signing up. (I'm having issues with link-ups at the moment. There will be proper link-up widgets for each month from January, but for now, comment, and I'll add you to this post. Sorry for the inconvenience.) If you have a blog/channel/Instagram, please make sure the link you add goes directly to your sign up post/page/video/photo and you mention your blog/channel/Insta name/screen name. If you're participating via Goodreads or Amazon, etc, please put your "screename @ platform" - I.E. If I was participating via Goodreads, I would put "Jo @ Goodreads".

I'm in! And I think I'm going to shoot for the Difficult level of 12 retellings.