Winter 2016 Book Challenge: Final Post

photo via Instagram

Happy February, everyone! Thank you all again for a fun and challenging winter reading experience. The #SCWBC16 wrapped up two days ago, and we had 13 readers finish the entire challenge, so kudos to each of you! Also kudos to everyone else who attempted the challenge, whether you finished one book or 12. I would love to hear everyone's favorite book they read this winter in the comments.

If you were curious, I did not get close to finishing, but I still read a lot of great books this winter! (I highly recommend Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran and All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood, neither of which I read for this challenge!)

Finally, I wanted to apologize for not being a very engaged host this past season. This was my 10th Semi-Charmed Book Challenge (I can't believe it!), and though I still love this community, I don't plan on hosting another challenge anytime soon. I feel like I'm missing out on so much by not being as engaged as I used to be, and I know there are a lot of other great reading challenges out there for you to join.

Speaking of ... may I suggest the Book Challenge by Erin? Erin is an awesome reader/blogger/'grammer living in Australia, and she has very graciously offered the first five finishers of my winter challenge to suggest a category for HER next challenge, scheduled for July - October 2017. (Thanks, Erin!! You rock!)

That being said: Jamie G., Becca, Bev, Jennifer E. & Kirsten T. - please contact Erin if you want to contribute to her challenge! For all readers, check out Erin's blog to learn more, and join the fun on her Facebook group and/or Goodreads. Also follow her on Instagram! She's fun. :)

Thanks again to all of you for coming back to Semi-Charmed Kind of Life again and again, whether you've been around since the first challenge in 2012 (or even before that), or whether you just visited for the first time last month. I hope to be back someday. (And in the meantime, keep up on my book writing at my public library and The Everygirl!)

Cheers!

Winter 2016 Book Challenge: The Preliminary List

photo via Instagram

Happy November! Today marks the start of the Semi-Charmed Winter 2016 Book Challenge. After checking out all your comments and preliminary posts (and stealing some great ideas, thanks!), here is what I plan to read for the challenge over the next three months:

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 150 pages long.

TBD

10 points: Read a 2016 finalist (longlist or shortlist) for one of the following literary prizes: National Book Award, Man Booker or Man Booker International.

The Association of Small Bombs, Karan Mahajan (National Book Award finalist for fiction)

10 points: Read a brand-new release (something published between November 1, 2016, and January 31, 2017).

Faithful, Alice Hoffman (release date: Nov. 1)

15 points: Read a book by an author of a different race or religion than you.

The Sun is Also a Star, Nicola Yoon (Yoon is a black woman from Jamaica)

15 points: Read a book featuring a main character who is of a different race or religion than you.

All American Boys, Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (one main character is a black American)

20 points: Read a modern retelling of a classic.

Vinegar Girl, Anne Tyler (retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew)

25 points: Read a book with an alcoholic beverage (neat or cocktail) in the title.

Campari for Breakfast, Sara Crowe (based on the category creator's recommendation!)

30 points: Read a book with a character that shares your first or last name.

Who wants to help me with this one?? There are a ton of spellings for Megan, and I've already read The Girl on the Train. Has anyone else read a book with a Megan/Meghan/Meagan/etc. you would recommend? Otherwise, I might use this as an excuse to finally reread A Wrinkle in Time (featuring Meg Murry), which I've been wanting to do for years.

30 points: Read two books: a nonfiction book and a fiction book with which it connects.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and The Train to Crystal City by Jan Jarboe Russell (both about the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II)

40 points: Read two books: one by an author whose first name is the same as the last name of the author of the other book.

Dubliners, James Joyce and Black Girl/White Girl by Joyce Carol Oates

~~~

Have you read any of these? What did you think? And for those of you playing along, good luck!

Semi-Charmed Winter 2016 Book Challenge

photo via Instagram

It's almost 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 excited to have you here today. Continue reading after the jump to see the guidelines and categories for the winter challenge.

Summer 2016 Book Challenge: Month 3

Wow, is it really September already? (I was in Starbucks this morning and heard someone call out a pumpkin spice latte, so I guess it really is!) This means the Semi-Charmed Summer 2016 Book Challenge ended at 11:59 p.m. last night. Feel free to stop by the original post to share what you read for this challenge, and let us know if there are any titles we should add to our TBRs! :)

I did not get close to finishing the challenge this summer, but I did read a lot of books. I'm in the middle of my short story/essay collection right now (The Fire This Time), and I chose One Good Earl Deserves a Lover as my "punny" book, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I actually am not a romance fan, but I heard this was a good book for non-romance fans on a bookish podcast, plus it had a punny title, so hopefully I'll get around to reading it sometime this year. :)

Thanks again for reading! If you were one of the first five finishers, please remember to send me your category suggestion for the winter challenge by October 1. I'll plan to post the winter list on October 15, and the next challenge will run from November 1 to January 31!

Happy end of summer, y'all.

Let the Reading Begin! #SCSBC16

Hello! This is just a friendly reminder that the Semi-Charmed Summer 2016 Book Challenge starts today (June 1). You don't need to do anything to get started (except read!), but I did want to share the following graphic with all the categories for this season's challenge. (Please feel free to share on social media and/or your own blogs if you desire.)

If you have any questions, please refer back to this post for the complete guidelines and category descriptions, but most of all: Just have fun! If you think a book fits a category, it probably does. :)

Good luck to all!!

So if you care to find me ...

... look to the western sky The Everygirl and the San Jose Public Library blog! :)

photo via Instagram

Hello, readers! I just wanted to pop in and update you on my long absence from Semi-Charmed Kind of Life. I don't have plans to return to regular blogging in this space anytime soon, but I am keeping the blog open to continue my seasonal reading challenges (the summer list will be posted on May 15, with the challenge running June 1 - August 31!) and to make a transition back to blogging easier if and when and I decide to pick it up again.

In the meantime, you can find my posts about travel (and possibly other subjects quite soon) over at The Everygirl, and you can read my bookish posts on the San Jose Public Library blog. As always, feel free to keep up and interact with me on Instagram and Twitter!

P.S. — If you understood my title/intro of this post, I hope we're best friends. ;)

Winter 2015 Book Challenge: Final Scoreboard

photo via @megtristao

Thank you to everyone who participated in the winter challenge! Quite a few of you (13!) finished the challenge, and many others got very close. Several of you who didn't finish still said you had a lot of fun, and that's what I love to hear! This is all about having fun and trying new books. :) That being said, I was a little stricter than usual when counting your final tallies because of the disclaimer I included in the first scoreboard. I just want to make sure I'm treating everyone fairly, so if any of your books were under 200 pages long or if your titles didn't exactly match up (e.g. there were a few "X" and "The X" pairings I couldn't count), those points will not be included in the final scoreboard below. As always, feel free to email me if you disagree with your total! I don't mean to discourage anyone (really, you still "won" because you read a new book or two!), and I hope you will all come back for the summer challenge regardless of how you did in this one. :)

Winter 2015 Book Challenge: Month 3

photo via @megtristao

Well, that's all she wrote read, folks! The winter book challenge just ended (at 11:59 p.m. on January 31), so it's time to tally up those final books! Continue reading after the jump to see the current scoreboard and find instructions to check in with your final score.

Winter 2015 Book Challenge: Month 2

photo via @megtristao

Happy New Year, readers! I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating the last day of 2015 and get to spend today doing something that reflects what you intend to do more of in 2016 (like reading, perhaps!). Today marks the end of the second month of the winter challenge, which means there is only one month left to finish! If you are new to the challenge, feel free to review the general rules and categories here, and record any books you've read back to November 1 in your check-in.

Below is the scoreboard as of the first check-in (which was available from December 1-7). I tend to be pretty lax with these challenges, as my main goal is for everyone to just have fun, but because I had so many questions about some of the categories this year and posted clarified categories with the month 1 check-in, I had to be a little stricter this time. Therefore, if you didn't receive points for a category you think you completed, it's probably because the books didn't quite match the category (in my humble opinion), or because you counted half points for the two-book categories (you must complete the entire category to earn points). If you disagree or are confused about your total below, please feel free to email me and we can clear it up before the final check-in on February 1! I definitely don't want anyone to feel cheated of points, but I also want to be fair to those who followed the rules. :)

Also, if you would like me to add/remove/change the blog link I have associated with your name, please let me know in the comments with your check-in, and I will be sure to update the next scoreboard!

PopSugar Ultimate Reading Challenge 2015: Finished!

photo via @megtristao

I attempted the PopSugar Ultimate Reading Challenge this year, and I just finished today (December 18). Woohoo! The books I read for the challenge are listed below; feel free to check out my reviews/ratings for these titles, as well as other books I've read in 2015, on Goodreads.

Winter 2015 Book Challenge: Month 1

photo via @megtristao

Hello, readers! It's been one full month since the winter 2015 book challenge began, which means it's already time to check in with your progress! If you are new to the challenge, feel free to review the general rules here and the categories below. If you aren't new, feel free to check out the categories again anyway, as I've done my best to clarify when readers have questions:

5 points: Read a book that has between 100 and 200 pages.
10 points: Read a debut book by any author. (The book does not have to be a 2015 debut.)
10 points: Read a book that does not take place in your current country of residence.
10 points: Read a book that someone else has already used for the challenge. — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher Kristen @ See You in a Porridge. [Edited to add: The book must be at least 200 pages long.]
15 points: Read a book published under a pseudonym (e.g. Robert Galbraith, Sara Poole, J.D. Robb, Franklin W. Dixon, Mark Twain, etc.). — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher Megan M. [Edited to add: The edition you read must be attributed to the pseudonym.]
15 points: Read a book with “boy,” “girl,” “man” or “woman” in the title (or the plural of these words).
15 points: Read a book with a one-word title (e.g. Attachments, Americanah, Uglies, Wild, etc.).
20 points: Read a book with a person's first and last name in the title (e.g. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle).
20 points: Read a food-themed book. — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher Jamie @ Whatever I Think Of!
20 points: Read a book with a verb in the title. (For any grammar nerds out there, I mean “verb” in the most general sense, so gerunds count. For non-grammar-inclined people, just use any book that appears to have a verb in the title!)
30 points: Read two books with the same title (by different authors). — Submitted by SCSBC15 finisher bevchen @ Confuzzledom. [Edited to add: The titles must be the SAME save for alternate spellings. For example, The Alchemist and Alchemist would be two different titles and would not work for the challenge, but The Alchemist and The Alchemyst would work.]
30 points: Read a nonfiction book and a fiction book about the same subject (e.g. a biography and historical fiction novel about the same person; two books about a specific war or event; a nonfiction book about autism and a novel with a character who has autism, etc. The possibilities are endless!). [Edited to add: This one is very broad! Just have fun with it!]

Remember, all books you have read dating back to November 1 count, even if you just joined the challenge yesterday (or today)! Continue reading after the jump to learn how to check in with your progress.

Semi-Charmed Winter 2015 Book Challenge

photo via @megtristao

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 excited to have you here today. Continue reading after the jump for the winter challenge rules and categories.

Summer 2015 Book Challenge: Final Scoreboard

Welcome to the final scoreboard for the Semi-Charmed Summer 2015 Book Challenge! Continue reading after the jump for final scores and information on the next challenge. :)

5 Bookish Hashtags to Explore on Instagram

It's no secret that I love Instagram. Lately, I've been spending a lot of time exploring the community, and my favorite posts are definitely travel photos and bookstagrams. Today I'm sharing five hashtags that I particularly enjoy exploring on any given day. :)

photo via @megtristao

1. #currentlyreading | This was the first "bookish" hashtag I discovered on Instagram. It gets a lot of use, so there are always new photos to scroll through.

Summer 2015 Book Challenge: Month 4

The summer 2015 book challenge is now over! Thanks to everyone who participated. Be sure to check in on this post by September 7 to be included in the final scoreboard, to be posted on September 10. Continue reading after the jump for the current scoreboard and check-in instructions. Also, either my math was really off the morning I prepared this post, or there were quite a few check-in posts that didn't match up with their points and their categories. So, if I made a mistake below with your total, I'm sorry! If you think your total below is incorrect, please post your complete reading list with your final check-in and I'll be sure the final scoreboard is correct. :)

My Top 10 Most-Read Authors

It's been a while since I've done a Top 10 Tuesday post with The Broke and the Bookish, and Goodreads makes today's theme so easy! So here are the 10 authors I've read the most books from (since 2008, when I started using Goodreads, unless the book was one of my favorites so I added it anyway, e.g. Harry Potter or The Bridge to Terabithia):

Summer 2015 Book Challenge: Month 3

Welcome to the third #SCSBC15 check-in! If you're new to the challenge, feel free to review the rules here. Remember, all books you've read back to May 1 count, even if you join the challenge today! Continue reading after the jump to see the current scoreboard and learn how to check in with your progress.

Summer 2015 Book Challenge: Month 2

Welcome to the second #SCSBC15 check-in! If you're new to the challenge, feel free to review the rules here. Remember, all books you've read back to May 1 count, even if you join the challenge today! Continue reading after the jump to see the current scoreboard and learn how to check in with your progress.

The Top 10 Books on my Summer TBR List

Ahhhh, summer! Although it is actually my least favorite season, now that I'm back in school, summer means way more time for reading, so it can't be all bad. :) I'm hoping to read a LOT this summer to make progress on my reading challenges (and this fun read-a-thon I found on Instagram yesterday). Here are the 10 books (adult and YA) I most want to check off my extensive TBR list before fall comes around:

Let's Discuss: Book Reviews & Ratings

photo via Instagram

This might come as a shock to you, but ... I always skip book reviews in my blog feed. (But I will skim your monthly recaps and check out your ratings! Just not your reviews.) That might seem weird, considering I love reading and blogging about books, but I don't particularly love book reviews for a few reasons:

1. I'm terrified of spoilers.
2. Lately, I've been picking up books that look interesting or have gotten a lot of buzz without necessarily knowing what the story is about. A book review would give me more information than I want to know.
3. If I want to read reviews, I just go to Goodreads. (Are we friends yet?? Check out my reading history here!)