2011 "Show Me the Free" Reading Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Missie over at The Unread Reader.  Here are the guidelines for this challenge: 

• Should you choose to participate in this challenge, your goal is to read at least twelve (12) legally obtained e-books which you got for FREE for your e-reading device. While twelve is the minimum there is no maximum limit.
• Anyone can join. You don't have to be a blogger, and you don't have to live in the United States. 
• Any E-Reader will work for this challenge, including: iPad, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony Reader, enTourage. 
• Please Note: If you don't have an e-reading device, you can still join in with Amazon's Free Kindle Reading Apps which you can download for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, PC, Blackberry and more.
• The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. You can join at anytime.
• e-books in ANY genre count for this challenge as long as it was FREE at the time that you downloaded it.
• Every month in 2011, I will make a post for the Show Me The Free Reading Challenge so you can link your reviews. 
• Those that link their reviews will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a different prize each month, such as an Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card, a bookmark, or a GelaSkins for your E-Reader. Winners will be announced at the end of each month.

Challenge Guidelines:

• If you blog, create a post announcing your participation in the challenge. Please include a link back to this post.
• Non blogger must publish reviews on some type of public domain such as Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble to enter the monthly giveaway.
• When you post your book review, you MUST say how you obtained the free read. Please make your source clear.
• You can list your books in advance or list them as you read them.
• Crossovers to other reading challenges is acceptable, but galley e-books DO NOT count. Again, this is a Reading Challenge to read as many of the FREE e-books legally offered for your e-reader. To get started, check out the Top 100 Free books on Amazon, or the Free e-books on Barnes & Noble. 
• Any linked reviews that do not meet the guidelines will not be entered into the monthly drawing for the prize of the month. 

Levels:
Coupon Clipper: 12 Books
Penny Pincher: 24 Books
Super Saver: 30+ Books

I will list my titles below, where I got it from, and the date I finished it.

1. Crossing Oceans (Holmes) -- Free from Kindle Store -- 1/19/11
2. A Gift of Grace (Clipston) -- Free from Kindle Store --
3. Wish (Bullen) --  Free from Kindle Store -- 2/20/11
4. Cool Beans: A Maya Davis Novel (Mangum) -- Free from Kindle Store --
5. Love on a Dime (James) -- Free from Kindle Store -- 3/13/11
6. Mr. Darcy's Diary (Grange) -- Free from Kindle Store
7. The Postmistress (Blake)  -- Checked out from library -- 1/14/11
8. Long Time Coming (Miller) -- Free from Kindle Store -- 3/16/11 
9. Fools Rush In (Thompson) -- Free from Kindle Store -- 4/30/11 
10. The Girl in the Gatehouse (Klassen) -- Free from Kindle Store -- 11/27/11 
11. A Vote of Confidence (Hatcher) -- Free from Kindle Store -- 11/ 31/11
12. 
    

2011 100+ Reading Challenge

This is my second year participating in this challenge, put forth by J. Kaye @  Home Girl's Book Blog.  The basic idea of this one is to try to read 100 books over the course of the year.  Here are her guidelines:

1. The goal is to read 100 or more books. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. --Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post.

2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Manga, Graphic Novels, Library books, Novellas, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.

3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

5. Challenge begins January 1st and continues through the end of December, 2011.

6. When you sign up under Mr. Linky, put the direct link to your post where your books will be listed. Include the URL to this post so that other viewers can find this fun challenge. If you’d prefer to put your list in the sidebar of your blog, please leave your viewers the link to the sign up page. Again, so viewers can join the challenge too.

I felt like I did pretty well last year, but let's see if I can surpass last year's number. 
Here is my list and the dates I finished them ... I will add to it as I read.  I'm also going to try to indicate a category for each book.

1. Dawn's Prelude (Peterson)  -- CHF -- 1/4/1
2. Morning's Refrain (Peterson) -- CHF -- 1/10/11
3. The Postmistress (Blake) -- eBook/Adult -- 1/14/11
4. Big Bouffant (Hosford) -- ARC/eBook/PB -- 1/17/11
5. Crossing Oceans (Holmes) -- eBook/Adult -- 1/19/11
6. The Pigman (Zindel) -- YA -- 1/22/11 
7. Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf (Holm) -- YA -- 1/25/11 
8. Speak (Anderson) -- YA -- 1/28/11
9. Twilight's Serenade (Peterson) -- CHF -- 1/31/11
10. Luna (Peters) -- YA --2/3/11
11. Nerd in Shining Armor (Thompson) -- Romance -- 2/4/11 
12. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart (Pattillo) -- Fiction -- 2/9/11
13. Athletic Shorts (Crutcher) -- YA -- 2/13/11 
14. Wish (Bullen) -- YA -- 2/20/11 
15. Feed (Anderson) -- YA -- 2/22/11 
16. The Devil's Arithmetic (Yolen) -- YA -- 2/24/11
17. Life As We Knew It (Pfeffer) -- YA -- 2/24/11
18. The Book Thief (Zusak) -- YA -- 3/4/11
19. Feathers (Woodson) -- YA -- 3/5/11 
20. Stanley in Space (Brown) -- Junior -- 3/11/11 
21. The Talented Clementine (Pennypacker) -- Junior -- 3/12/11
22. Love on a Dime (James) -- CHF -- 3/13/11 
23. Long Time Coming (Miller) -- eBook/CF -- 3/16/11 
24. Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo (Filipovic) -- YA -- 3/21/11 
25. Dash and Lilly's Book of Dares (Cohn) -- YA -- 3/28/11
26. The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood ) -- Adult/YA -- 3/29/11
27. Monster (Myers) -- YA -- 3/31/11
28. The American Heiress (Goodwin) -- Historical Fiction -- 4/7/11
29. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood -- YA -- 4/13/11
30. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie) -- YA -- 4/20/11
31. Twilight:  The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 (Meyer) -- YA -- 4/27/11
32. Fools Rush In (Thompson) -- CF -- 4/30/11
33. Country Brides (Macomber) -- Adult -- 5/2/11
34. The Soldier's Wife (Leroy) -- Adult -- 5/12/11 
35. Summer Breeze (Anderson) -- Historical Fiction/Romance -- 5/17/11
36. Finishing Becca (Rinaldi) -- YA Historical Fiction -- 5/25/11
37. The Union Quilters (Chiaverini) -- Adult -- 6/1/11
38. On Hummingbird Wings (Snelling) -- CF -- 6/8/11
39. Embers of Love (Peterson) -- CHF -- 6/12/11
40. Jane Austen Ruined My Life (Pattillo) -- Adult -- 6/18/11
41. A Daughter's Inheritance (Peterson/Miller) -- CHF -- 6/21/11
42. An Unexpected Love (Peterson/Miller) -- CHF -- 6/28/11
43. A Surrendered Heart (Peterson/Miller) -- CHF -- 6/28/11
44. The Aloha Quilt (Chiaverini) -- Adult -- 6/30/11
45. In the Company of Others (Karon) -- Adult -- 7/16/11
46. A Heart for Home (Snelling) -- CHF -- 7/19/11
47. Her Daughter's Dream (Rivers) -- CF -- 7/23/11
48. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Brashares) -- YA -- 7/28/11
49. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (Brashares) -- YA -- 7/30/11
50. Girls in Pants (Brashares) -- YA -- 7/31/11
51. Forever in Blue:  The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Brashares) -- YA -- 8/2/11
52. Sisterhood Everlasting (Brashares) -- Adult -- 8/6/11
53. The Other Queen (Gregory) -- Adult -- 8/19/11
54. Rumors (Godbersen) -- YA -- 8/30/11
55. A Distant Melody (Sundin) -- CHF -- 9/1/11
56. A Memory Between Us (Sundin) -- CHF -- 9/10/11
57. Blue Skies Tomorrow (Sundin) -- CHF -- 9/13/11
58. The Preacher's Bride (Hedlund) -- CHF -- 9/23/11
59. The Shop on Blossom Street (Macomber) -- Adult -- 10/11
60.  A Good Yarn (Macomber) -- Adult -- 10/11
61. Susannah's Garden (Macomber) -- Adult -- 10/11
62. Back on Blossom Street (Macomber) -- Adult -- 10/11
63. Twenty Wishes (Macomber) -- Adult -- 10/11
64. Summer on Blossom Street (Macomber) -- Adult -- 10/11
65. Hannah's List (Macomber) -- Adult -- 11/6
66. 1105 Yakima Street (Macomber) -- Adult -- 11/15
67. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane (Macomber) -- Adult -- 11/18
68. The Christmas Singing (Woodsmall) -- CF -- 11/20
69. The Girl in the Gatehouse (Klassen) -- CHF -- 11/27
70. A Vote of Confidence (Hatcher) -- CHF -- 11/31
71. A Log Cabin Christmas: 9 Romances of American Pioneer Christmases -- CHF -- 12/25 
72. Just Ella (Haddix) -- Junior/YA -- 12/29

2011 YA Reading Challenge

This one is hosted by Jamie @ "For the Love of YA"

Rules:

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. Create a post about the challenge and link your challenge post up in the linky below.

--Non-Bloggers: Post your list of books in the comment section of the wrap-up post.

2. There are four levels:

--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.

--The "Fun Size" YA Reading Challenge – Read 20 Young Adult novels.

--The Jumbo Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 40 Young Adult novels.

--The Mega size YA Reading Challenge – Read 50+ Young Adult novels.

3. Audio, eBooks, paper, re-reads all count.

4. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

5. The Challenge starts on January 1, 2011 and goes until December 31, 2011.

Perhaps I am cheating a bit by participating in this one, but I couldn't resist as I am going to be taking a YA Lit. college course this semester.  I am sure I will read at least 20 books for that course alone!  I will list the titles I read and the date completed below as I finish them. 

1. The Pigman (Zindel) -- 1/22/11 
2. Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf (Holm) -- 1/25/11 
3. Speak (Anderson) -- 1/28/11
4. Luna (Peters) --2/3/11
5. Athletic Shorts (Crutcher) -- 2/13/11
6. Wish (Bullen) -- 2/20/11 
7. Feed (Anderson) -- 2/22/11
8. The Devil's Arithmetic (Yolen) -- 2/24/11 
9. Life As We Knew It (Pfeffer) -- 2/27/11 
10. The Book Thief (Zusak) -- 3/4/11 
11. Feathers (Woodson) -- 3/5/11 
12. Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo (Filipovic) -- 3/21/11  
13. Dash and Lilly's Book of Dares (Cohn) -- 3/28/11
14. The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood) -- 3/29/11
15. Monster (Myers) -- 3/31/11
16. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood (Saenz) -- 4/13/11
17. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie) -- 4/20/11
18. Twilight: A Graphic Novel, Volume 1 (Meyer) -- 4/27/11
19. Finishing Becca (Rinaldi) -- 5/25/11
20. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Brashares) -- 7/28/11
21. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (Brashares) -- 7/30/11
22. Girls in Pants (Brashares) -- 7/31/11
23. Forever in Blue:  The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Brashares) -- 8/2/11
24. Rumors (Godbersen) -- 8/30/11
25. Just Ella (Haddix) -- 12/29/11
    

2011 eBook Challenge

Hosted by theladybugreads.blogspot.com -- Challenge Guidelines:
1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
--Non-bloggers: Include your information in the comment section.
2. There are four levels:
-- Curious – Read 3 e-books.
-- Fascinated – Read 6 e-books.
-- Addicted – Read 12 e-books.
-- Obsessed – Read 20 e-books.
-- Possessed – Read 50 e-books.
-- Fanatical – Read 75 e-books.
-- Monomaniacal – Read 100 e-books.
3. Any genre counts.
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. Challenge begins January 1, 2011 and lasts until December 31, 2011.

We'll have to see how many I read ... I'm going to guess somewhere between 12 and 20.  I will list them below as I read them, along with the dates I finished them.

1. The Postmistress (Blake) -- 1/14/11 -- Checked out from TDL
2. Big Bouffant (Hosford) -- 1/17/11 -- Netgalley
3. Crossing Oceans (Holmes) -- 1/19/11 -- Amazon (free)
4. Wish (Bullen) -- 2/20/11 -- Amazon (free)
5. Feed (Anderson) -- 2/22/11 -- Amazon (purchased)
6. Long Time Coming (Miller) -- 3/16/11 -- Amazon (free)
7. The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood) -- 3/29/11 -- Amazon (purchased) 
8. Fools Rush In (Thompson) -- 4/30/11 -- Amazon (free)
9. The Christmas Singing (Woodsmall) -- 11/20/11 -- Amazon (purchased)
10. The Girl in the Gatehouse (Klassen) -- 11/27/11 -- Amazon (free) 
11. A Vote of Confidence (Hatcher) -- 11/31/11 -- Amazon (free)

2011 Christian Historical Fiction Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Margaret over at www.creativemadnessmama.com /
www.christianhistoricalfiction.com.  The goal is to read 24 books in this genre throughout the year.  I participated in this one last year and really enjoyed it, so I look forward to doing it again this year!






Here is a list of books I hope to read ... I will add to it as time goes on (all books for this challenge will be counted for other challenges as well) :

1. Dawn's Prelude (Peterson) -- 1/4/11
2. Morning's Refrain (Peterson) -- 1/10/11
3. Twilight's Serenade (Peterson) -- 1/31/11
4. The Red Siren (Tyndall)
5. Liberty's Promise (Stockton) 
6. The Reluctant Cowgirl (Lynxwiler)
7. The Secret (Lewis)
8. Rachel's Secret (Hoff)
9. A Vote of Confidence (Hatcher)
10. Montana Rose (Connealy)
11. No Place for a Lady (Brendan)
12. Love on a Dime (James) -- 3/13/11 
13. Embers of Love (Peterson) -- 6/12/11
14. A Daughter's Inheritance (Peterson/Miller) -- 6/21/11 
15. An Unexpected Love (Peterson/Miller) -- 6/28/11 
16. A Surrendered Heart (Peterson/Miller) -- 6/28/11 
17. A Heart for Home (Snelling) -- 7/19/11 
18. A Distant Melody (Sundin) -- 9/1/11 
19. A Memory Between Us (Sundin) -- 9/10/11 
20. Blue Skies Tomorrow (Sundin) -- 9/13/11
21. The Preacher's Bride (Hedlund) -- 9/23/11
22. The Girl in the Gatehouse (Klassen) -- 11/20/11
23. A Vote of Confidence (Hatcher) -- 11/27/11
24. A Log Cabin Christmas: 9 Romances of American Pioneer Christmases -- 12/25/11

Review: Dawn's Prelude by Tracie Peterson

Dawn's Prelude by Tracie Peterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was an excellent book! Peterson does a great job of pulling the reader in right from the beginning and making the reader really feel for her characters. Throughout the entire book I really wanted things to work out for the main character, Lydia; and of course they do. But, I also wanted things to work out for the better for one of the other characters. You'll have to read this one for yourself though to find out if Evie is able to break away from the evil and deceit that shroud her family.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all our family and friends! 
Love,
Chris, Kati, David and Jonathan