Summer Break Reading Challenge

Activity #10 Winner

2010-08-02T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry it took so long to get back to you guys! Last week I was scrambling to complete all the requirements for my Ph.D. and was dealing with some stuff for my new job. So now I can officially say, my name is Dr. Karin Perry and I teach at East Central University in the Library Department.

On to our winner....

Congratulations to Elizabeth from Swords for Fighting.

Elizabeth, email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your choice from the Prize List. Be sure to include your mailing address.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #10 - Create-A-Cover

2010-07-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

I've done this activity during the Holiday Break Reading Challenge and the Spring Break Reading Challenge. It is so much fun. I hope you guys enjoy it too.
1 – Go to “Fake Name Generator” or clickhttp://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

The name that appears is your author name.
2 – Go to “Random Word Generator” or clickhttp://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml
The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.
3 – Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php
Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.
4 – Use Picnik, or something similar to put it all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.
In terms of the activity for the Reading Challenge, I’m asking the participants to create the cover and write a short synopsis to go along with it.
Here is mine:

Sophie, a.k.a. Alexxxis, has been working nights at Wild Horse for a year and so far has been able to keep it a secret from everyone at school. Until last night.

Chip, blindfolded and dragged by his friends to Wild Horse for his eighteenth birthday, doesn't know what to expect when he is plopped down right in front of the stage, but when he saw Sophie walk out on stage and take her clothes off, he couldn't believe his eyes. Why would Straight A Sophie be working in the raunchiest strip club in town?

The next day at school, no matter how hard she tried to hide from Chip, he seemed to pop up everywhere. Afraid Chip would spread the news about her after school job, she decided to confront him and beg him not to talk.

Sophie never expected Chip to come into her life and definitely didn't expect the amount of strength she would get from just having him to talk to. Maybe, just maybe Sophie will gain the courage to take control of her life.

Now it is your turn to create your own cover and synopsis. You have until the end of the day Saturday, July 24th.

Activity #9 Winner

2010-07-21T19:19:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Iffath of Love Reading X. She is the winner of Activity #9. Iffath, be sure to email me with your book choice from the Prize List at karinlibrarian@gmail.com.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #9 - Your Book In Pictures

2010-07-17T13:36:00.002-05:00

"A picture is worth a thousand words." We've all heard that quote over the years and now it is time to put it to the test. Here is what you have to do:

1. Think about the book you are reading right now (or one you just finished) and choose key scenes, settings, and characters that would give people a good idea what the story is about.
2. Using the Internet, find pictures to represent those scenes, settings, and characters.
3. Create a blog post using the pictures. Incorporate a little text to help out the reader, but remember, the pictures are the most important aspect of this activity.
4. Come back here and use Mr. Linky to attach your post to be eligible to win and so everyone else can "see" what you are reading.

See below for my example:

Right now I am listening to SISTERS RED by Jackson Pearce using the Audible App on my iPhone. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I was hooked after the first few minutes.

Scarlett and Rosie March had their lives turned upside down when a Fenris (werewolf) came to their isolated cottage and killed their grandmother.

The Fenris intended to devour the two girls next, but Scarlett, using a shard of glass, fought him off and saved both their lives. Scarlett didn't get away unharmed though. She received the first of many scars during this fight - the most devastating being the loss of her right eye.

With the help of her best friend, closest neighbor, and fighting partner Silas (a reluctant woodsman), Scarlett makes it her life's work to hunt and kill Fenris. Rosie trains along side them, but Scarlett is desperate to keep her safe and doesn't want her hunting alone.

The Fenris can't resist the color red, the sweet smell of perfume, or the sexy sway of a girl's hips. Girls don't even know they are prey and fall for the smooth lines of the Fenris while he is still in human form. Once he has the girls alone - the Fenris transforms.

Scarlett and Rosie do everything they can to lure them to a secluded spot and kill them as soon as the Fenris has made the shift to wolf form. Scarlett's weapon of choice is a hatchet.

Scarlett has seen an increase in the appearance of Fenris and discovers the reason is because the packs are searching for a Potential - a human that can become a Fenris if bit during the Phase.

Each pack wants to claim the Potential for themselves. Atlanta, GA seems to have the highest concentration of killings so Scarlett, Silas, and Rosie decide to go to fight the Fenris and hopefully discover who the Potential is before he is changed.

Scarlett's plans don't work out like she hoped. The Fenris are stronger and harder to bait. She begins to feel like a failure. Rosie has never been the one who wanted hunting to be her life and with Silas encouraging her to try new things she is torn. She struggles with her feelings of guilt for wanting more for her life, her growing feelings for Silas, and the guilt she feels for betraying her sister.

This is a wonderful book. A story of love, friendship, sisters, revenge, etc. I can't wait to finish and see how everything turns out.

A great website about this meaning of the original Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale.

Now it is your turn. You have until the end of Tuesday, July 20th to post Your Book In Pictures. I can't wait to "see" what you are reading.

Activity #8 Winner

2010-07-15T08:10:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Alexandra from Reading@BerkeleyHigh. She is the winner of the Read-a-Like List Activity. So, Alexandra, email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your choice from the Prize List.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #8 - Read-a-Like Lists

2010-07-10T18:00:00.001-05:00

This Activity involves you creating a Read-a-Like List. You can choose any topic/theme that you want and there isn't any specific number of titles required. Just be sure there are enough so it can be considered a list. Here is an example of my latest Read-a-Like List about Zombies.

Here is a link to all of my Read-a-Like posts.

Create a post on your blog and post the link using Mr. Linky below. You have until the end of Monday to complete this task.

Activity #7 Winner

2010-07-10T15:54:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Kathy from Kathy's Book Bag. She is the winner of Activity #7. Email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your choice from the Prize List.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #7 - Reading Update

2010-07-08T16:45:00.000-05:00

Let's make it easy this time. All you have to do this time is post a comment on this post with your reading accomplishments for the summer. Tell us what books you've read, what you liked the best, maybe even tell us what books you reviewed and link them if you can. If not, just be sure to leave your blog address so we can go find them. You have until the end of Friday, July 9th to post your comment.

For example:

So far this summer I've read:

PLAY DEAD by Ryan Brown (June 3, 2010)
NOMANSLAND by Lesley Hauge (June 18, 2010)
CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare (June 21, 2010)
ROT & RUIN by Jonathan Maberry (June 24, 2010)
PASSING STRANGE by Daniel Waters (June 25, 2010)
SHIP BREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi (June 27, 2010) IPAD

Even though I finished THE NIGHT IS FOR HUNTING by John Marsden (the 6th book in the TOMORROW Series), I didn't write the review until June.

THE NIGHT IS FOR HUNTING by John Marsden (AUDIO)

I just finished THE OTHER SIDE OF DAWN by John Marsden and I still need to write the review.

Currently, I'm reading two books.

THE PASSAGE by Justin Cronin - I'm on Chapter 20 which is 36% of the way finished.

SISTER WIFE by Shelley Hrdlitschka - I'm on Chapter 5.

I'm listening to:

WHILE I LIVE by John Marsden (Book 1 in the Ellie Chronicles)

Your turn. Remember, just post a comment.

Activity #6 Winner

2010-07-08T16:23:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Carly from Writing from the Tub. She is the winner of the Heart Throb Activity. Carly, email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your prize choice.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #6 - Heart Throbs

2010-07-06T07:26:00.000-05:00

Even though my husband accuses me of living in a fantasy world with all of my books, I assure you, I'm completely and totally grounded in reality. BUT...if I could live in a book which one would it be? I'm going to make that decision by the men I've fallen in love with between the pages of the books.

Jace Wayland from City of Bones definitely makes the cut. He is brave, smart, a super fighter, and has a wonderful sense of humor. When I read The Mortal Instruments Trilogy Jace was my all time favorite character. I would totally love to be Clary in these books.

I'm not particularly happy with this picture, but it is the one on the author's website. This is Shane Collins from The Morganville Vampire series. Shane is great. He has a good sense of humor, is a loyal friend, and so nice when it comes to Claire. Even though he is extremely attracted to her, he is respectful of the fact that she is younger than him and doesn't rush or force her to do anything she doesn't want to do.

Of course I can't leave Edward Cullen off the list. Even though he is controlling and hides the truth from Bella (to keep her safe), I'd still be happy to spend my eternal, vampire life with him. I know in the Twilight books, the vampire bite is extremely painful and I can't remember if they bite each other during "romantic" times or not. But, I prefer the vampire myth where the vampire bite is intoxicating. So, in my make-believe world Edward's bite would be mind-blowing.

Lovely, lovely Harry Potter. He has grown into an extremely handsome man. His awkwardness and quiet way makes him so cute. Loyalty is a huge part of his character as well. It also doesn't hurt him that he knows magic. Just think, he could whip up dinner, clean the house, and make traveling REALLY easy, all with the flick of the wrist.

Sam from SHIVER would be another choice. I'm not sure I like this picture for him, but this is a person many fans have said they would choose as Sam. Sam is so romantic. He has watched Grace from afar for years, waiting for a chance to meet her in person. Once he gets the chance, he'll do anything to stay with her. He also has loyalty running through his veins. He is loyal to Grace and to his pack. So sexy!

Now it is your turn. Who are your literature heart throbs? Create a post on your blog and come back here to link your post using Mr. Linky. You have until Wednesday night to post.

Activity #5 Winner

2010-07-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Karen Burns! She is the winner of the Collage Activity. Karen, email me your book choice at karinlibrarian@gmail.com.

Here are the book titles included in the collage:

Top L-R

Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu, Bliss by Lauren Myracle, and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.

Bottom L-R

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater, Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender, By The Time You Read This I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters, Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer, Pure by Terra Elan McVoy.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #5 - Guess the Cover

2010-07-03T12:15:00.000-05:00

Can you guess the book covers in the collage below? There are 10 books represented in the Activity. Try your best to get them all, but your answers don't have to be correct to win. You have until the end of Monday, July 5th to get your answers submitted.

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Activity #4 Winner

2010-07-03T11:34:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Julie from My Only Vice. She is the winner of the Scavenger Hunt Activity. Julie, email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your choice from the Prize List page.

You Still Have Time

2010-07-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry I didn't post a due date for the Scavenger Hunt. Since I've heard from several of you that this one was kind of hard and time consuming I'm going to give people until the end of July 2nd (Friday) to complete the activity. I'll announce the winner late Friday night. The new Activity will be posted on Saturday.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #4 - Scavenger Hunt

2010-06-30T00:00:00.044-05:00

One of the best and most important things about blogging is building community and learning from others. Today I'm going to ask you to explore the Internet and find some things on other blogs. So, Activity #4 is a ...

Find the following things and create a post on your blog with the results. Link back using Mr. Linky below.

1. A blog that is new to you that focuses on the same type of literature you do (ex: I read YA so the blog would need to focus on YA).

2. A book that is new to you that another blogger reviewed.

3. A book set in Africa (in your preferred age category, if possible).

4. A book about a human/animal bond (in your preferred age category, if possible).

5. A book trailer for a book you want to read.

6. A book with a color in the title (in your preferred age category, if possible).

7. A blog that is new to you that is dedicated to a certain genre (ex: only books about vampires, only historical fiction, only urban fantasy, etc.)

8. A book blog maintained by a librarian.

9. A book blog maintained by a teacher.

10. The title of an upcoming book by an author you like (provide details - title, release date, synopsis).

Get Ready...Get Set...Scavenge...

Activity #3 Winner

2010-06-29T22:28:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? When I put in the numbers of the book review entries look what popped up!

So, congratulations to Lisa from Badass Bookie. Lisa, email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with you choice from the Prize List page.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #3 - Book Reviews

2010-06-28T00:10:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I get behind on my book reviews. I haven't read very much this month, but even so - I've only written one review. That is terrible. So, the activity for today is to catch up on reviews. If you aren't behind, then good for you. Just post a review for the book you recently finished. Or, if you haven't finished anything yet, think back to a book you read in the past that you never reviewed and create one for it.

Post your link using Mr. Linky. You can post as many reviews as you want AS LONG AS THEY WEREN'T WRITTEN BEFORE TODAY. Each Mr. Linky post will be eligible for the random drawing.

Post your reviews by Tuesday, June 29th. The winner will be announced at the end of that day. You have two days folks! Get busy writing. I'm going to try and post my reviews too so look for my links as well. (I won't include myself in the random drawing though.)

Activity #2 Winner

2010-06-28T00:08:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Kim at Skelton's Book Tree. She is the winner of the Wordle Activity. Be sure to visit her blog at http://skeltonsbooktree.blogspot.com/.

Kim - email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your prize preference from the prize page.

Thanks to everyone who entered. Get ready to be productive. Activity #3 is going to make you work.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #2 - Wordle

2010-06-26T02:00:00.000-05:00

Activity #2 is going to be easy and fun. Here is what you need to do:

1. Choose a book or book series.
2. Locate either the book reviews you've written or the publisher's book descriptions for the book(s) you chose.
3. Go to http://www.wordle.net
4. Click on CREATE your own.
5. Copy and Paste the text of the reviews or synopses in the first box on the page.
6. Click Go.
7. Play with the Font, Layout, and Color until you get a look you like.
8. Click on Save To Public Gallery at the bottom right of the page.
9. Fill out the information for the Title and click on Save.
10. Find a way to save the picture or copy the HTML code to paste into your blog post and display it on your blog post for this activity.
11. Tell us what book(s) you used for the Wordle picture in the post.

Here is an example:

I am a huge fan of the Chaos Walking Trilogy. Patrick Ness is an amazing storyteller. I used my reviews for THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, THE ASK AND THE ANSWER, and MONSTERS OF MEN to create my Wordle. You can click on the book titles to read the reviews for yourself.

Link your post using Mr. Linky with your Wordle post. You have until Sunday night to post. The winner will be announced on Monday, June 28th. The winner will choose a book from the Prize List page, which will be available soon.

Activity #1 Winner

2010-06-25T23:29:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Erika Lynn from Kiss My Book. She is the winner of BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. Erika, email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com with your mailing address so I can get it to you soon.

Thanks you everyone who entered. Don't fret. We have time for many more winners to be chosen.

Summer Break Reading Challenge Activity #1

2010-06-23T22:56:00.000-05:00

Okay everyone, here's how we're going to start. I want you to post your reading goals for the summer. The prize up for grabs is BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver.

Here is an example:

My summer started out really busy. I've had to finish my dissertation and haven't been able to read as much as I wanted. But, now that I've turned it in to my committee and there isn't much I can do at this point, I have a little more time. Here are my reading goals for the remainder of the summer.

I'd like to read the following books:

Karen DeSonne always passed as a normal (if pale) teenager; with her friends, with her family, and at school. Passing cost her the love of her life. And now that Karen’s dead, she’s still passing—this time, as alive. Karen DeSonne just happens to be an extremely human-like zombie. Meanwhile, Karen’s dead friends have been fingered in a high-profile murder, causing a new round of antizombie regulations that have forced them into hiding. Karen soon learns that the “murder” that destroyed their non-life was a hoax, staged by Pete Martinsburg and his bioist zealots. Obtaining enough evidence to expose the fraud and prove her friends’ innocence means doing the unthinkable: becoming Pete’s girlfriend. Karen’s only hope is that the enemy never realizes who she really is—because the consequences would be worse than death.

For once, sixteen-year-old Aden Stone has everything he’s ever wanted:

A home.

Friends.

The girl of his dreams.

Too bad he’s going to die...Since coming to Crossroads, Oklahoma, former outcast Aden Stone has been living the good life. Never mind that one of his best friends is a werewolf, his girlfriend is a vampire princess who hungers for his blood, and he’s supposed to be crowned Vampire King – while still a human! Well, kind of.

With four – oops, three now — human souls living inside his head, Aden has always been “different” himself. These souls can time travel, raise the dead, possess another’s mind, and, his least favorite these days, tell the future.

The forecast for Aden? A knife through the heart.

Because a war is brewing between the creatures of the dark, and Aden is somehow at the center of it all. But he isn’t about to lie down and accept his destiny without a fight. Not when his new friends have his back, not when Victoria has risked her own future to be with him, and not when he has a reason to live for the first time in his life...

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.

When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

It's 1962, and it seems everyone is living in fear. Twelve-year-old Franny Chapman lives with her family in Washington, DC, during the days surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis. Amidst the pervasive threat of nuclear war, Franny must face the tension between herself and her younger brother, figure out where she fits in with her family, and look beyond outward appearances. For Franny, as for all Americans, it's going to be a formative year.

Set initially in a future shanty town in America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being dissembled for parts by a rag tag group of workers, we meet Nailer, a teenage boy working the light crew, searching for copper wiring to make quota and live another day. The harsh realities of this life, from his abusive father, to his hand to mouth existence, echo the worst poverty in the present day third world. When an accident leads Nailer to discover an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, and the lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl, Nailer finds himself at a crossroads. Should he strip the ship and live a life of relative wealth, or rescue the girl, Nita, at great risk to himself and hope she'll lead him to a better life. This is a novel that illuminates a world where oil has been replaced by necessity, and where the gap between the haves and have-nots is now an abyss. Yet amidst the shadows of degradation, hope lies ahead.

It happens in one night: a girl who died now walks among the living, Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach, and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most - Drake. But Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness - or so they thought. As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake. And the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza, are preaching that death will set them all free. As life in the FAYZ becomes more desperate, no one knows who they can trust.

I'd like to LISTEN to the following books:

For Ellie Linton, being back on the farm with her parents is what makes the terrible things that happened during the war -- the things she, Homer, Lee, Fi, and the others had to do -- all worthwhile. It's where she belongs.

But the war won't let her go. A devastating tragedy has shattered any hope she ever had to reclaim her life, or herself. It's a new kind of fight. And the enemy isn't always from the other side of the border.

Ellie has struggled to put the war behind her and lead a normal life. Although what's normal about your parents having been murdered; trying to run a farm and go to school; and bring up a young boy who's hiding terrible secrets about his past?

It is a time of profound change for Ellie Linton. Enemies are everywhere. Some come crawling over the hills others drive in and knock on the front door. Sometimes her friends are there and sometimes they are not. Ellie fights every inch of the way. But when courage and imagination are not enough, when she is trapped and helpless, Ellie must face the end of life as she knows it ... standing alone, sustained only by her own strength.

I hope I can get all of these finished. Now it is your turn.
1) Create a post like this for your own blog.
2) Post the Summer Break Reading Challenge Button on your post.
3) Come back here and link your post using Mr. Linky.

A random winner will be chose on Saturday, June 26th so be sure to post before then.

Let's Have Some Fun - Introducing the Summer Break Reading Challenge

2010-06-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

Join me in some reading fun this summer.

I haven't been able to get as many books finished as I planned during my break and hoped hosting a challenge for the remainder of the summer would help. If you are familiar with the Holiday Break Reading Challenge and the Spring Break Reading Challenge this one will work the same way.

Take a little time to put the button on your website so we can spread the word and get more bloggers involved.

Be on the lookout for the first challenge soon.

Thanks Erika for reminding me to give some more details:

1. The Challenge will start today (June 23, 2010) and end toward the end of August.

2. You DO NOT have to participate in every activity - just pick and choose what you want to do.

3. Some activities will have a specific prize attached to them, but some you will be able to choose what you want from a list of available books.

4. Activity due dates will be listed in each post.

Any questions, feel free to email me at karinlibrarian@gmail.com.