Hello Everyone!

It has once again been forever since I have talked to you all! The reason I have been non-existent is because I have been so busy bonding with my beautiful son who was born in March. I am almost done writing his birth story, so look for that in a future post! 🙂 So, I was finally catching up on my emails and saw an email from one of the blogs I follow with their summer book challenge. I thought this would be a great way to motivate me to carve out some time each day to do some reading, because I have definitely been failing at that since March. I bet you all just can’t imagine why that could be 😉 So here it is and join in! Check out the original post here.

Semi-Charmed Summer 2015 Book Challenge

It’s time for the next installment of the Semi-Charmed Book Challenge series! Whether you are a newcomer to the challenge or a repeat reader, I am so happy to have you here today! Continue reading after the jump for the challenge rules and categories. 🙂

General rules:

• The challenge will run from May 1, 2015, to August 31, 2015. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on May 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on August 31 will count.
• Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audiobooks and large-print books are fine, as long as the regular print versions meets this length requirement.
• A book can only be used for one category, and each category can only be completed once. If you want to switch the category of a book during a later check-in, that’s fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.
• Rereads can be used for a maximum of three books in the challenge. This rule is meant to encourage you to try new books while still allowing you to revisit books from your childhood or young adulthood that you might get more out of now. Please reread the entire book within the timeframe of the challenge in order to count it; no simply finishing old books or partial rereads.
• The highest possible total is 200 points, and the first five people who finish the challenge will be invited to contribute a category for the next challenge.

And now for the exciting part: the challenge categories!

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.My choice for this category is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini:I actually started this book over five years ago and never finished it, so I am starting over and am going to finish it this time! It was a good book from what I remember, I just got sidetracked while reading it.

10 points: Read a book you have never heard of before. (Just go to a shelf and pick a book based on the cover, the title, whatever you want!)

My choice for this category is Salt – A World History by Mark Kurlansky:I pulled this book off of my husband’s shelf. It was the first one that caught my eye and it sounded kind of interesting. We shall see…

10 points: Read a book that has been on your TBR list for at least two years. (If you’ve had a Goodreads account for 2+ years, this will be easy to figure out. If you don’t, do your best to pick a book you’re pretty sure you’ve been wanting to read for years.)

My choice for this category is My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult:I purchased this book years and years ago and added it to my to read on goodreads two years ago when I first discovered goodreads. I know this is going to be a tearjerker, but I do love some Jodi Picoult. 10 points: Read a book that won a Goodreads “Best Book” award in 2014. My choice for this category is The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport: This is the only category that I didn’t already own the book. I am fascinated by the Romanov’s so I am looking forward to reading about this tragic, but intriguing story. 15 points: Read a book by an author who is completely new to you. My choice for this category is The Vampire Diaries – The Awakening by LJ Smith: This is another one that I purchased a long time ago and just never got around to reading. I have watched to show, which is really starting to lose me, so hopefully the book is better. They usually are!

15 points: Read a book by an author you have read before. (No re-reads for this one.)

My choice for this category is and the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers: I love Francine Rivers and am looking forward to this book of hers that I have not read yet. 15 points: Read a book with “light” or “dark” in the title. (Or “lightness” or “darkness.”) My choice for this category is Dark Lord – The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno: I love that I am getting to read one of my Star Wars books for this challenge 🙂 I am a total dork and am not afraid to admit it 😉

20 points: Read a book with the name of a city, state or country in the title. Edited to add: The place must be real, either current or historical, but not fictional.

My choice for this category is Japan – Its History and Culture by W. Scott Morton: Another one that I am going to restart reading because I never finished it. I meant to read this before our trip to Japan last year, but time just got away from me! 20 points: Read a book with an animal on the cover. My choice for this category is Silk (Heart of India) by Linda Chaikin: I have had this book for forever and this is the perfect excuse to move it to the top of my reading list.

25 points: Read a book that is part of a series with at least four books.

My choice for this category is The Indwelling (Left Behind Series) by Jenkins and LaHaye: I love this series and am re-reading it because it has been so long, this is the seventh in the series. 25 points: Read a book that is longer than 500 pages long. — Submitted by winter finisher Kristen from See You in a Porridge. My choice for this category is Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin: I always love a good classic and had not gotten around to reading this one yet and it is over 500 pages, so perfect!

30 points: Read a book with an alliterative title. (All words in the title must begin with the same letter; no exceptions for articles or prepositions. Examples: Gone Girl or Nicholas Nickleby. Yes, this is tough, which is why it’s worth the most points!)

My choice for this category is Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz: This is the first book I found on my shelf that fit this description. I had a short vampire craze (thank you Twilight), which I am not as into anymore, so we will see what I think of this book 😉 Here is my progress so far 🙂

0/12 books

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