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OLDER CHALLENGES - 2012 and earlier

       OLDER CHALLENGES PAGE- 2012!!

 I did NOT complete these lists!
From being sick ALL of December, to doing the blog, to trying to get some last minute reading in, I FAILED to complete these lists. I am NOT GOING BACK to complete them either. The year is OVER. The Challenges are OVER. I'm not wasting time going back and filling in the missing holes, either. It's pointless.

 May I redirect you to the current year - 2013! Thanks!

This page holds ALL Reading Challenges I will be participating in through this year, 2012!  You will have to scroll down to see them ALL!
These will blend in very nicely with what I read now!  I'm excited! There is a 3-day event called a Blogiesta, then there are 2-Month long Challenges that will be posted up here just AFTER the "Reading Challenge Addict"! You'll see! You just have to scroll down to see ALL the Challenges or to find the one you are looking for!
The
As I say, Here's to Blogging, Here's to Reading, Here's to Good Books and Authors!

Here we go!

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 LOOK WHAT CHALLENGE I FOUND!!!

Well, not really a Challenge, but HELP for those of us who are Reading Challenge Challenged!! Those of us who are participating in SO many of them at the same time!

 However, ALMOST "ALL" OF THESE CHALLENGES ARE INTERCHANGEABLE/CROSSOVER BOOKS.  'ALL' the books can be applied to ALL of the Challenges, or at least 'most' of the Challenges!  I guess in other words, they can overlap, one into the other!  The HARD part will be to make sure "I" keep track and put the books in ALL the right places!  So, you will see after each Challenge I have listed, in order for myself to keep track, I have numbered each and every Challenge with the number of books I will be reading.  This is the ONLY way I could think of to keep track!  As I read them, I will ADD them!  As you come around to my Blog, you can check this page and see how I am doing!

This is going to be FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reading Challenge Addict
Sponsored by:
http://readingchallengeaddict.blogspot.com/p/join-us-in-2012.html and 
her NEW blog address of http://www.cmashlovestoread.com 

Join the Reading Challenge Addicts Challenge!


Where we help you to control your addictiveness, help you to complete what you've started, and, well, sort-of kind-of, help you find more pretty buttons ;)

SIGN UP TODAY!  YOU CAN CLICK ON THE FIRST LINK UP ABOVE UNDER THE ICON!


Join us to stamp out our addictiveness to reading challenges -- or just help us find more & enjoy our obsessiveness.
Just enter your handle, the link to your sign-up post, and your email address so that I can contact for any possible issues or prizes.

From her OLD blog, I have copied and pasted what she has written!  It's SOOOO cute!!!
Here it is:


Hi Everyone!!!!    Come on in !!!  Don't be shy!!!!  Join the Party!!!!!!!

Let me introduce myself..........standing up.....(and proudly I may add)......I'm Cheryl from CMash Loves To Read and I am a Challenge Addict.....I said it !!!  See !!!   That wasn't hard...not at all.  

I have been stalking A Novel Challenge blog for the past couple of months gearing up for the new 2012 Challenges.  2011 wasn't a good year for me so I am even more excited because I am hopeful that I am going to do better in 2012.  I am a co host, partner,associate, cohort, Gina's my boss in this challenge.  According to my job description from last year, I am to wave and cheer everyone on.

                         (Here she has little guys cheering with pom-poms!  It continues!)

This is a different type of challenge.  We stop by tell each other how we are doing, have some fun, and usually find out about more challenges that we can join from our own resident Queen Challenge Addict.....Bev.  If you haven't met her....you are in for a real treat!!!.   So sign that linky, stop on by, join in on the fun and share your progress with everyone.  As of today, I think I'm signed up for a mere 19 but then there is 3 more weeks to go.  Hope to see you soon.  I'm off to see if there are any new challenges posted and to practice my wave.........

                            (Now HERE she has little guys WAVING BACK AND FORTH!!!)

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2011


It's confession time...


Ok, Cheryl! Bev & I have just about had enough! You are just stalking!!

When I said that you just needed to smile & wave I didn't think I'd see your Cheshire grin as I'm slithering through the underbrush to the next challenge!

PLEASE!

Someone, please, tell me that you've joined as many challenges as Bev & I!! 2012 hasn't even started yet and I've already got 23. And, Bev, BEV! Well, she's still signing up for 2011 challenges!

Come on in!! The fire's nice and toasty by the Addicts Chair. Cheryl's even trying to call in special help...

After you've joined in - Leave a comment to tell us which challenge you're most excited to participate in this coming year. Mine is the Historical Romance Reading Challenge! I just adore those books & Danielle is so much fun!!

Now I am going to go over and sign up!  I have Posted my Post and am ready to sign up!  YES!  Here we go!!  I can stand-up and admit I am Reading Challenged challenged!!  LOL!!!
STILL time to sign up!   Come on over to the FIRST link!!!
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APRIL 2012!

BLOGGING FROM A to Z
Challenge April 2012!

THIS CHALLENGE HAS IT'S OWN TAB UP ABOVE! PLEASE SEE THEM AND CLICK ON THAT TAB TO GO TO THIS CHALLENGE!
This Challenge will be a MONTH LONG! So I have decided to dedicate a FULL PAGE to it! So ALL you have to DO is to click on the TAB up ABOVE that says: 
A to Z Challenge/Blogging 
April 2012

See you over at that page!!!

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2012 Goodreads Reading Challenge!


Jan 1st to Dec 31st, 2012


So far, as usual, I WILL be participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge!  The 'LIVE' button/link you will see in the right side column!  It automatically updates from Goodreads once I mark a book as "Read" and fill in my review!  SO nice and easy, peasy!
Last year, 2011, I read 87 books.  I started that challenge LATER in the year, and said I would first read 50 books, but as that got SO close, I HAD to up it! I wanted to push myself and I could have done 100, easily.  I did end up taking half the month of December 'kind of off', so as to enjoy the holidays with my family!  That did NOT mean I stopped reading!  I could have easily reached 100.
I DID meet my goal of 85 books!  Actually I made 87 books!
I accomplished my goal!!  YEAH!!!!!
This year I will be committing to 115 books!  I believe I will make that without a problem!
Hopefully, I will get some ARC's from the Publishers!!  I hope you are listening!!  Keeping my fingers crossed!   For a while there, I was receiving books from Simon and Schuster, but faster than I could read them!  In the future, I will highlight the book anyways, then once it is read, I will post my review!  The book WILL get advertised that way RIGHT AWAY!  It won't have to wait for me to read it before it gets to shine in it's glory!
Okay - my goal for this Challenge:
Goodreads - 115 books for 2012!
I'm SOOOO behind listing ALL the books here!!! Oh my gosh! It's going to take away reading time to catch up listing them all! LOL!

 1.    Bedbugs by Ben H. White
2.    She Had No Choice by Debra Burroughs
3.    *The Man in the Cinder Clouds by Rick Daley 2nd time!
4.    The Wonder of Ordinary Magic by Lilli Jolgren Day
5.    An Unlikely Arrangement by Patty Wiseman
6.    *Crazy in Paradise by Deborah Brown
7.    Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson
8.    *Beatrice Munson by Lorena Bathey
9.    A Winter Discovery by Michael Baron
10.  *Come Back to Me
11.  My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade  
12.  An Amish Wedding by Kathleen Long, Kelly Fuller and Beth Wiseman
13.  The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh 
14.  The Evelyn Project by Kfir Luzzato 
15.  *Slammed by Colleen Hoover 
16.  Leaving Fantasy Land by James E Parker 
17.  Losing Elizabeth by Tanya Peterson 
18.  The Divorce Girl by Caryn Mirriam Goldberg 
19.  The RX Factor by J Thomas Shaw 
20.  Between You and Me by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus 
21.  There Goes the Bride by Holly McQueen 
22.  Being Light by Helen Smith - Need to write this review yet!
23.  Puzzlebook: 103 Puzzle Quizzes by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
24.  The Big, Big, Big Book of Brain Teasers by The Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
25.  Ragdoll Redeemed, Growing Up in the Shadow of Marilyn Monroe by Dawn Novotny 
26.  The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson 
27.  Illustrated Guide to Sewing: Garment Construction: A Complete Course on Making Clothing for Fit and Fashion by Peg Couch 
28.  Sew Up a Home Makeover by Lexie Barnes 
29.  Easy & Elegant Beaded Copper Jewelry: How to Create Beautiful Fashion Accessories from a Few Basic Steps by Lora S. Irish 
30.  Necklines and Collars by Skills Institute  
31.  *Defending Jacob by William Landay 
32.  Jewelry Fix-Ups by David McLaughlin 
33.  Sleeves: A Directory of Design Details and Techniques by Mindy Kinsey 
34.  My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade   
35.  An Amish Wedding by Kelly Long, Kathleen Fuller and Beth Wiseman 
36.  Smiley Book of Colors by Ruth Kaiser 
37.  Divergent by Veronica Roth 
38.  Puzzlebook: 12 Christmas Puzzle Quizzes by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family  
39.  Comeback Love, A Novel, by Peter Golden 
40.  Grabarchuk Puzzles "Cut the Shapes" (A Puzzle Game for Kindle) 240 Dissection Puzzles 
41.  Grabarchuk Puzzles "Cut the Shapes" (A Puzzle Game for Kindle) 240 Dissection Puzzles 
42.  Puzzlebook Trilogy 303 Puzzle Quizzes by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
43.  Puzzlebook 102 Puzzle Quizzes by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
44.  Puzzlebook 101 Puzzle Quizzes by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
45.  Puzzlebook 100 Puzzle Quizzes (Volume 1) by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
46.  Deadly Reunion by Amy Manneman 
47.  Puzzlebook 20 Easter Puzzles by the Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
48.  Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith 
49.  Twenty Weeks by Melissa Hamling 
50.  Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover - Review not yet published   
51.  After the Snow Falls by Jane Carey Clark - Review not yet published  
52.  Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Review not yet published
53.  There Goes the Bride by Holly McQueen 
54.  Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover  
55.  Midnight Cravings, Book One of The Eternal Dead Series by Joelle Sterling 
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ANY books that you see preceeded by a red asterisk, like this ---> *, are in contention to be listed in my Top 12 of 2012!

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              2012 Debut Adult Fiction Authors Challenge


Sponsored by Mrs. Q Book Addict

If YOU are interested in joining this Challenge, click on the ICON and it will take you directly there!  YOU can sign up!

What is this challenge about?

This challenge is for anyone who intends to read/spotlight 2012 Adult Fiction Debut Novels. This challenge was inspired by The Young Adult Debut author challenge hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

1. Challenge will run from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.

2. Once the challenge has begun, each month there will be a post with a Mr. Linky, please come and add your link. 

3. You may link your review, guest post or interview. The goal is to spotlight these 2012 debut authors, and get the word out about their debut books. 

4. Please sign up for the Challenge using the linky (If you do not have a blog, you may use the comment section). 

5. You do not have to choose your books ahead of time.


If you would be so kind, please spread the word about this challenge by creating a post on your blog/website and link back to this sign up page.


Again, the Blog Address to sign up for this Challenge is: Mrs. Q Book Addict


Levels:

Gold: 10+ Reviews, Interviews and/or Guest Posts
Silver: 6-9 Reviews, Interviews and/or Guest Posts
Bronze: 1-5 Reviews, Interviews and/or Guest Posts


I am going for the GOLD!!

You can click on the name of the book and it will take you directly TO the review!


NEXT CHALLENGE:



The 2011 E-book Challenge was hosted by The Ladybug Reads. She has decided not to host it for 2012, and I was the lucky lottery winner who gets to host it. That's right, there was so much interest from people wanting to host it that she had to hold a lottery.

 Challenge Guidelines:
  1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.
  2. Anyone can join, you don't need to be a blogger. If you don't have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
  3. Any genre or length of book counts, as long as it is in ebook format.
  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. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the E-Book Reading Challenge.
  6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
  7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
Levels:
  1. Floppy disk - 5 ebooks
  2. CD - 10 ebooks
  3. DVD - 25 ebooks
  4. Memory stick - 50 ebooks - this is the level I have chosen! I'll probably go over and increase it later!!
  5. Hard drive - 75 ebooks
  6. Server - 100 ebooks
  7. Human brain - 150 ebooks

 At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews for that month. If you forget, feel free to add your reviews in the following month. Any reviews submitted will be entered into the draw for that month.

 Yes, there will be draws every month for participants. As long as you are signed up below, every review you add to the monthly roundups will get one entry into the giveaway for that month.

 There will also be a grand giveaway at the end of the year for eveyone who achieves their goal level (or  higher). There may be different prizes for different levels, but that is not decided yet. If you are an author and want to contribute to the monthly or grand prizes, please contact me.

 Sign-up:
Sign up for the 2012 Ebook Challenge below. Please use the direct URL to the post where you declare your intention to do the challenge.

Go on over NOW and sign up!!  I am #16!

As you can SEE BELOW, I am listing ALL the books I have read in ebook form. 

***IF you are interested in reading the reviews of these books, just click on the book!

ebooks:

6.    Come Back to Me    
18.  Being Light by Helen Smith - need to write this review yet!
23.  Easy & Elegant Beaded Copper Jewelry: How to Create Beautiful Fashion Accessories from a Few Basic Steps by Lora S. Irish
41.  Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Review not yet published  
42.  After the Snow Falls by Jane Carey Clark - Review not yet published
43.    
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I believe this would qualify as INDIE AUTHORS!!  For those of you who read Indie Authors, I HIGHLY suggest you join this challenge!!  This Challenge may UP my previous Challenge above, the Ebook Challenge!  I 'might' up it to 100 as ALL of these Challenges CAN BE COMBINED!

The sign up link for this challenge is:  http://www.workadayreads.com/2011/11/2012-self-published-reading-challenge.html  Go on over there and sign up!!

HERE'S THE INFO:

I'm jumping right into challenge hosting next year, and adding a second challenge to my blog, that way there is a challenge to match each of my two focuses. I have an ebook challenge, so naturally I needed to add a Self-Published Reading Challenge. I love reading self-published stories, and love sharing them with others as well. With the huge surge in available books this year, I thought this challenge would be a great way ride that wave into next year.

Challenge Guidelines:
  1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2012 - Dec 31, 2012.
  2. Anyone can join, you don't need to be a blogger. If you don't have a blog, feel free to sign-up in the comments. You can post reviews to any book site (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, etc).
  3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is self-published by the author.
  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. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the Self-Published Reading Challenge.
  6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
  7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2012, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
Levels:
  1. Sentence - 5 books
  2. Paragraph- 10 books
  3. Page - 25 books
  4. Chapter - 50 books  THIS IS THE CHALLENGE I AM SIGNING UP FOR!!!
  5. Short Story - 75 books
  6. Novel - 100 books
  7. Series - 150 books
At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews for that month. If you forget, feel free to add your reviews in the following month. Any reviews submitted will be entered into the draw for that month.

 Yes, there will be draws every month for participants. As long as you are signed up below, every review you add to the monthly roundups will get one entry into the giveaway for that month.

 There will also be a grand giveaway at the end of the year for eveyone who achieves their goal level (or  higher). There may be different prizes for different levels, but that is not decided yet. If you are an author and want to contribute to the monthly or grand prizes, please contact me.

 Sign-up:
Sign up for the 2012 Self-Published Reading Challenge below. Please use the direct URL to the post where you declare your intention to do the challenge.

 I am #21 in this Challenge!
You can click on the name of the book and it will take you directly to my review!

 1.    She Had No Choice by Debra Burroughs
2.    The Evelyn Project by Kfir Luzzato 
3.    Slammed by Colleen Hoover (At the time I read this book it WAS self-published as Atria Books has now picked this book up! HOORAY for the Indies'!!!!! 
4.    Point of Retreat (Book 2 in the Slammed Series) by Colleen Hoover 
5.    After the Snow Falls - Need to write the review yet!
6.    Leaving Fantasy Land by James E Parker 
7.    Losing Elizabeth by Tanya Peterson 
8.    The Divorce Girl by Caryn Mirriam Goldberg 
9.    The RX Factor by J Thomas Shaw 
10.  Being Light by Helen Smith - Need to write the review yet!
11.  Puzzlebook: 103 Puzzle Quizzes by The Grabarchuk Puzzle Family 
12.  Ragdoll Redeemed, Growing Up in the Shadow of Marilyn Monroe by Dawn Novotny 
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This is a total of "4" Reading Challenges I am participating in! I LOVE THIS!!  I will definitely keep you updated, as we have to do monthly updates as we go along!

If you would like to join in on ANY of these Challenges, most of them are open for several months into the new year!  I have provided the links for you, so go on over and enter!!!  HAVE FUN READING!

Keep watching for my updates!!!

Now, JUST for January, a 5th Reading Challenge!!  Check it out!
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2012 AMISH READING CHALLENGE
Jan 1st to Dec 31st!

Thanks to our Sponsor Reviews by Molly!
Click on that LINK to sign up!

Here are the DIRECTIONS FOR THE CHALLENGE!
(Copied and pasted from Reviews by Molly's page for my own reference as well as yours!)


2012 Amish Reading Challenge Hosted By Reviews By Molly

12/26/2011
by 
It’s BACK!! The second Amish Reading Challenge! I had a good turn out this year and I had some requests to bring it back, so I am running this challenge from January 2012 through December 2012, with signups on going. I am including a linky sign up form on this post so everyone can sign up. All those who sign up will have to follow the rules. :)
The Rules:
1. The goal is to read 15 or more books. Anyone can join. 

2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, 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  thru December, 2012.  You can join at anytime.
6. GRAB the button and spread the word!
Make SURE to do your POST first, then go on over and 

 ENTER your info to join the Challenge! 


Make SURE to grab the button to add to your side-bar 

columns!  Have FUN!  I am!!

1.    An Amish Wedding by Kathleen Long, Kelly Fuller and Beth Wiseman
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"JUST FOR FUN!"

2012

Reading Challenge

Sponsored by Escape with Dollycas

THIS INFO IS COPIED AND PASTED FROM HER SITE 
In a nutshell, for this Reading Challenge, we will read 12 books, or, 1 book a month, JUST FOR FUN!!!  YEAH!!!  So, our TBR pile can be knocked DOWN by 12 books this year!!  I MUST admit, my TBR list on Goodreads does NOT contain ALL my books!  I can't YET come to terms with admitting HOW MANY BOOKS I HAVE ON MY KINDLE!!!  MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, at one of the meetings we have at Cmash LOVES to Read I WILL stand up and ADMIT / CONFESS HOW MANY BOOKS I HAVE ON MY KINDLE!!!
Honestly, MANY of them ARE READ!!!  
Not ALL of them!!!
You MUST understand, when you SEE a GREAT book, you MUST GRAB IT, OR YOU'LL NEVER SEE IT AGAIN!  ESPECIALLY IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT!  SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU, I PRESENT DOLLYcas' Reading Challenge!  (Remember, this is copied and pasted!!)

As followers you get our recommendations, win books from us, pick up books at the library or buy them at a store.
But our lives are so busy these books sometimes sit in our To-Be-Read piles for months or even years.
As bloggers we are all on timetables to read books, get reviews posted, host giveaways, etc.  But we also travel around to other blogs and see books we would just like to read because of their recommendation or the cover or title catches our interest. The Meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey “It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?” adds more books to my Wish List and To-Be-Read pile every week.

 This is the second year I am hosting this challenge to
encourage you to read some of those books.
12 books in 12 months.
This year this challenge will be set up as a group on Good Reads. If you are not a member it is very easy to join. There are many benefits other than this challenge, you can keep track of the books you read and get great recommendations from other members too. Just go here http://www.goodreads.com/ to sign up. CLOSED NOW
Join the group! CLOSED!!!
This group will close to new members on January 31, 2012. 
THIS GROUP IS NOW CLOSED. You CAN go there and read ALL the people who joined and see what THEY PERSONALLY CHOSE TO READ EACH MONTH!
I am committing to read just one book for fun each month!  (ME, TOO!!  Some months I 'might' try for 2 ???)

***Here are my books and you can CLICK ON THE NAME OF EVERY BOOK to read my review! 
JANUARY:       Bedbugs by Ben H Winters  
FEBRUARY      Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson  
MARCH           Dash and Lillie's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - I did NOT write a review yet! UGh!
APRIL             Divergent by Veronica Roth  
MAY                Leaving Fantasy Land by James E Parker 
JUNE               The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh  
JULY               Slammed by Colleen Hoover
AUGUST         Point of Retreat (Book 2 in the Slammed Series) by Colleen Hoover 
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
There will be no forms to fill out each month. You just need to go back to your original post on GoodReads,  and edit it each month to add the book you read plus the author next to each month. Please add a link to the book you read if you would like. This way you are in charge of your own recordkeeping and can check where you are in the challenge anytime you wish.
Bloggers: Please grab the button (Bottom of sidebar) and put it on your blog to show your participation and provide a link back so others can join. I hope you will write a post telling about your involvement in the challenge and invite you followers to join and participate! Bloggers if you feel compelled to review the book you can but it is not required. You may want to list what books you have read under the button on your blog.
Then:
Read 1, yes, just 1 book for fun each month. 
All book formats are allowed, printed, audio, e-book.
These books can be counted in your total books read for the year challenge and to one other challenge such as a Where Are You Reading Challenge but try not to cross them over to many other challenges as they really are to be read
JUST FOR FUN!
Everyone that completes the Challenge, 12 books in 12 months will be entered in a drawing for a $25 dollar Amazon.com Gift Certificate or $25 at The Book Depository for International Participants.
Last year I really hampered myself by using the books I read JUST FOR FUN as a prize. I found myself putting so much thought into my choices like: Is it the first in a series?, Will other people like this?, that I found I wasn’t reading the books I really wanted to read JUST FOR FUN, like some of my favorite series books that I didn’t want to part with. So my books will not be a prize in 2012.
Instead I will add another $10 Gift Certificate from Amazon.com or The Book Depository as a 2nd prize.
More prizes may be added depending on the number of participants.
You Must Read One Book For Fun Each Month.
You can only add one book to your list per month.
I hope you enjoy this challenge and
hope I help you clear at least 12 books from the rising stacks.
There will also be extra giveaways only for JUST FOR FUN CHALLENGE MEMBERS throughout the year!
You can enter anytime between now and January 31, 2012.
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     "January 2012" is NetGalley Month!!

http://redhousebooks.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-declare-january-to-be-netgalley-month.html 

Who does NOT like NetGalley?  NO ONE!!  I THINK "EVERYONE" LOVES NET GALLEY!!!

What is IT?

First, I want to give proper adieu, the Sponsor for this WONDERFUL CHALLENGE IS:  RED HOUSE BOOKS!

Click on the LINKS and it will take you directly there!  You CAN STILL SIGN UP FOR THIS CHALLENGE!!

Red House Books hosts particular months of the year as NetGalley months!  I am SO thankful for them doing this!  It IS a LOT of fun!  What is it?  Well, I copied and pasted HER directions directly 'from her blog'.  You can read them here, and then click on the LINK I provide so YOU can go over and SIGN UP!!  
If you are participating in the ebook Challenge which I have posted up above, these books DO and WILL count towards your ebook reading goal!  How WONDERFUL!
NetGalley LOVES when Red House Books does this!  She even gets mentioned on their website!  I HIGHLY suggest you try this out!  You're gonna LOVE IT!!  If you already have some NetGalley Books, this is a GREAT time to catch up!!  Read the ones you have BEFORE getting some NEW ones, and give them some TLC!  I have some that NEED TLC!!
This next part of 'this' post comes directly copied and pasted, (to give proper credit to) Red House Book's Blog.  It explains what exactly NetGalley month is and HOW to sign up! Check it out!  Then go on over there with the LINK I provided and sign up!


Tuesday, December 20, 2011


I declare January to be NetGalley Month - Sign Up Now :)

Happy New Year!


Ok, so I'm a few weeks off ;)


BUT, what I am in time for is Red House Book's 4th NetGalley Month Read-A-Thon!


Between January 1st and January 31st, I challenge you to read as many NetGalley books as you possibly can!

NetGalley October was a ton of fun and for January I've taken into account some participant suggestions:
*I'm using a linky tool for people to sign up with -- lets us all see and hopefully visit each other over the course of the month

*A Twitter hashtag? THERE IS ONE! It's #NetGalleyMonth and you can use it anytime you tweet about your NetGalley reads in January. I'll be checking the feed just about every night and hopefully crashing a few conversations ;)

A few of you also made some suggestions or requests regarding access to NetGalley titles. I just want to make clear that I have no affiliation with NetGalley and your participation in my read-a-thons in no way affects your personal NetGalley approvals. I'm doing this just for fun! If you're a NetGalley member, I'm sure there is at least 1 or 2 (or 10 or 20) titles you've already been approved for that need some love :)
For old and new participants alike, Greetings and Welcome! 


The 'rules' are really simple:
1. Declare yourself!
Write up a post, share it on Facebook, Tweet, sky writing, carrier pigeons...Somehow, let the world know you're participating and link it up below.
2. Read NetGalley books in January!
And tell us about them in February :)

Any questions, let me know! (email: WilowRaven@gmail.com OR tweet me @WilowRedHouse)
**UPDATE**
Thanks to Sarah from Workaday Reads, NetGalley January now has a wonderful button!
Sarah created NetGalley October's button and once again, she has done a fabulous job.
I've included the code in case you want to add it to your site as well.
THANK YOU SARAH!!
Again, to sign up, go to Red House Books! You're gonna LOVE IT!!!
See the SUPER CUTE BUTTON up above?  Grab that, too!  Post it on your Blog! 
When you go to NetGalley, make SURE you grab their button, too, and post it on your blog! BOTH buttons are GREAT!!!
Have FUN!!!
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I completed this ENTIRE challenge!!!
Hooray!!!
See it ALL below!
A to Z!!!!

This Challenge occurred in April 2012! I am switching it over from the original page it was on over to HERE!!! It is a post on the letters from A to Z! Here it is!
This is ONLY possible because of the following Blog: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ THANK YOU!
So, what IS this, you ask? We choose a theme, and write "26" Posts - 1 each day (except for the next 3 Sundays, starting April 1st), using the letters of the Alphabet, from A to Z! You can refer to the calendar below.
Why not on ALL the Sunday's?
We get Sunday's OFF for Good Behavior except for April 1st!
"YOU" choose your theme of what YOU will write about! I'll bet you could not guess what my theme could be about - 

MY THEME: BOOKS! 

Below is our calendar we follow!
We Blog each day for the letter it shows!




This is the brainchild of Arlee Bird, at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ and the A to Z Challenge http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com to post the letter of the alphabet every day during the month of April, with Sundays off for good behavior. Since April 1 falls on a Sunday, that will be the day we start with A. Whether you go with a theme or freestyle, your post must match the letter of the alphabet for that day. Add your name to the list, grab the badge in the right sidebar, and when the Challenge begins, start by visiting the blog immediately after your own. Set a goal – we recommend five blogs a day, more if you are able.

 To see ALL the other blogs, close to 2,000 other blogs that are participating in this event, please click on the ever changing button below! See, right below these words! (UPDATE: JUST CLICK ON THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE'S LINKS TO GO TO THE SITE. I USED TO HAVE A GRAPHIC HERE THAT YOU COULD CLICK ON BUT I DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO IT ANY LONGER NOW THAT THE CHALLENGE IS OVER.)


When you visit other Blogs in ANY type of Challenge or Blog Hop, etc., you learn SO many things! You find other Challenges, Blog Hops, or different ways of Posting, learn new things from the articles they write, and SO much MORE! I have even found NEW ways of using Widgets! It is a wonderful thing to do, and a GREAT way to help support other Bloggers who are in on this same event! Leave a comment that you stopped by! It's ALWAYS WONDERFUL to receive COMMENTS and SUPPORT ALL the Bloggers! Broaden your horizons by visiting more and more blogs each day! Visit many different Blogs! You will find and learn a LOT! I've learned this from my own experience! 

A HUGE "THANK YOU" TO OUR HOSTS, and we suggest you FOLLOW THEM to be able to stay on top of EVERYTHING that is going on, or changes, etc. (You can click on every Blog address and the link will take you there so you can follow ALL of them!) Here they are: 

MORE Sponsors for the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts WITH Blog addresses are: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey at Life is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller,Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. We also have a Facebook page, addy below!  

I would HIGHLY suggest you follow this Challenge on Twitter and Facebook! Here are the links to do so:
Hashtage:  #AtoZChallenge
Email:       2012azinfo@gmail.com

As it states above, and here is MORE information at ALL the Blogs above.  Everyone who signs up for this Challenge, and the goal is to have at 'least' 1,000 Bloggers to participate! 
You will write a Blog Post using the letters from A to Z all through April. We are to write a Blog Post EVERY day, starting from Sunday, April 1st, 2012! We will have Sundays OFF! Whew! There will be a total of 26 posts for the month! This will be IN ADDITION TO, in my instance, Book Reviews, Tours, Blog Hops, or anything else I may blog about in books!
It seems as if there are a LOT of writers who have signed up. I am a Book Blogger/Reviewer, but would LOVE to talk BOOKS! That is my LOVE! The Sponsors also put up a call for Photographers! So it sounds like there are a LOT of different Blogs out there that are participating as well!

There is a really cool article on a Survival Guide at http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/2012/02/dls-guide-to-surviving-to-z.html and what I have done already is to post my Alphabet, and started to write down what I want to write about for each corresponding letter. I hope this gives me a good head-start! A lot of people are already starting to write their posts! If you figure there will be 26 Posts, that is a LOT! 

PLEASE leave COMMENTS on my Posts! I'm jumping into something I've never done before, but REALLY looking forward to doing so! Isn't that what life is all about? Doing things beyond your comfort zone to keep it fresh and exciting! Sounds like SO much fun! I'll get to see how I grow in my blogging, too! FUN!
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Sunday, April 1st, 2012
Happy April Fools Day!

Hello! Here we are! The FIRST day of our "A to Z Blogging Challenge - April 2012"! This Challenge is even starting in the month that starts with the letter "A"! Thank you for coming! As you see, this is the FIRST Blog Post, for the LETTER A! You will have to scroll down to see each Blog Post for each letter. Today's post will be short, as I have written SO much about this already, up above. Today I want to "A"ddress my Topic/Subject.

MY TOPIC/SUBJECT: BOOKS
Letter: "A" today:
What does "A" stand for? "ALL". I have written ALL about this Challenge up above. You can see ALL the Sponsors who are hosting this Challenge, and once again, I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO PLEASE VISIT THEM "ALL"! Also, there are links to follow this Challenge up above as well! It would be WONDERFUL if you would please follow ALL of them! Thank you!

ALL of my Posts will be ALL about Books! I AM a Book Blogger/Book Reviewer, after ALL!

I'd LOVE to introduce myself first. I am Laurie Carlson and I started blogging in October of 2010. So, for about the last year and a half I have been writing almost exclusively ALL about book reviews! I have written other articles as well, but mostly ALL book reviews.
I am going to talk about many different things in this Challenge, but ALL about books, and the article will ALL pertain to books. Books in EVERY sense. I LOVE books! I would have to be if I have done this for as long as I have so far, after ALL!

Thank you for stopping by today! As I said, today's post is short. I will try to keep them pretty short, as I can tend towards writing a little too much! Sorry! I hope you enjoy ALL these posts, and have FUN! 

I am going to HAVE A GIVEAWAY AT THE END OF THIS CHALLENGE FOR "ALL" THE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON AT THE LINK I PROVIDE EACH DAY! EVERY COMMENT YOU LEAVE WILL COUNT AS '1' ENTRY! YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO CHOOSE A BOOK OUT OF "ALL" THE BOOKS THAT I HAVE AVAILABLE, JUST FOR LEAVING COMMENTS!

Who knows? Perhaps I will have MORE books than just '1' by the end of this Challenge!

What do YOU have to do to enter this GIVEAWAY? Just leave a comment! The MORE comments you leave, the MORE chances you have of winning a book or maybe books, plural!

Thank you SO much for stopping by and reading my FIRST Post of 26 in this Challenge! Now, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT HERE!!  
Now, please go to see ALL the other Blogs here: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/2012-to-z-challenge-sign-up-list.html   Guess what? There are 1,696 other Blogs participating in this Challenge! WOW!!!!! I have NEVER been in a Challenge with THIS MANY BLOGS! WOW!!!!! This is OUTSTANDING!

See you tomorrow, Monday, with the Letter B!

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Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Theme: "Books"
Subject: Letter "B"
Topic: Books

 Blogging from A to Z Challenge - April 2012!

This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Welcome! Here we are Day 2 of our Blogging Challenge!
              Today's letter is 
                 "B"
                   BOOKS!
Books, to me, whenever I see one, I think brings these first thoughts I am writing down because of how I felt about them as a child. When I saw a book, I thought of my father. My father traveled a lot for his job when I was a child, and when he was home on the weekends, I could depend on seeing this tall, smart, wise, protective man, who loved me unconditionally. A man who lit up the moment he stepped foot in the door after being gone for the week and seeing us, his family. This man, who, in the evenings after his shower would not watch television, but instead, he enjoyed what was held between the two covers of a book. I saw the enjoyment he got out of this thing, and knew they held great things for me when I got older. Once I learned how to read, one of the first  books my father would use for me to read out of so he could show me off with how well I could read, and at such a young age, was a TV Guide. My mother also  instilled in me this love of books as well.
Books bring comfort. love, wonderful stories, fun, educational, places to go, new people to meet, and . . . wait, books are kind of like people! Well, whatever! Books are DIVINE!
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 This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

TUESDAY, APRIL 3rd, 2012
TOPIC: BOOKS
TODAY'S LETTER: "C"

 Blogging from A to Z Challenge - April 2012!
This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Today's letter - "C" for "Creativity"!

 You know what NEVER seizes to amaze me? The amount of CREATIVITY in books! No two books are ever the same. We can take one story on one subject and give it to 1,000 authors, and every one of those stories will turn out different. It's amazing to me the imagination people have, the enormity of it, and such difference between so many different people/authors. NO BOOK IS EVER THE SAME! It takes an incredible amount of CREATIVITY among millions of authors to NOT write the same words twice! Just think about all the hundreds of years people have written books, too. Sure, the subject matter of the book may be VERY similar, but the words are NEVER the same and the stories are never the same. This is what makes reading so wonderful. Out of ALL these years, and ALL the books that have been published, they are all different. It absolutely amazes me that this amount of CREATIVITY exists. You would think you can take the same subject and just beat it to death, and there would be some type of the same exact writing, yet there is not. Sure, there are copycats out there, but I don't want to go there today. Today I am focusing on the enormous capacity of CREATIVITY that every person in this world has, as demonstrated with the writing and publishing of books. This is POWERFUL, isn't it! Wow! Just think, most of those people don't even realize this, nor do they give it a thought! If only people would take a moment to realize the power that CREATIVITY has! Limitless!
Thank you to ALL the writers/authors out there that have shared their CREATIVITY with us!

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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4th, 2012
TOPIC: BOOKS
TODAY'S LETTER: "D"

 Blogging from A to Z Challenge - April 2012!

This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted at the top of this page.

Hmmmm? Let's see where we are on the calendar so far. Not bad!


Wednesday, April 4th, 2012 - Wow! 4 days already! FUN! At least I'm enjoying this! Hope you are, too! Here is:

TODAY'S LETTER is "D" for "DOGS" and Books!

 Dogs, you say? For books? For Blogging about Books? YES! Have you EVER seen how MANY books there are ALL about dogs? TONS! Every time I turn around I find a GREAT book on Man's Best Friend!
I have a Best Friend! Carly! She is going to be 5 years old on July 10th, which happens to be my late Grandmother's birthday! She is a Chow/Black Lab/Australian Cattle Dog (derived from herding dogs and the Dingo in Australia!) Why, there is a book on the Best Seller list with a dog on it right now. The name is "The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. #14 on the New York Best Seller List! Here's a photo of the book:
And, in case you want to purchase this book, here's the link:


 Look at this little guy! He's SO cute! How could you NOT like dogs? How could you NOT expect for there to be SO many books written about dogs? There are SO many stories about dogs that I could tell you just about my own! "I" could write a book about Carly! This weekend my son took a squeeky toy of hers and ran a rope through it so she could play "Tug". My little stinker of a dog got the knots apart! She sat there and worked them with her teeth, and pulled the knots OUT! It is quite amazing what this little stinker can do! Or, how about the times every day when she knows it's treat time? Or when my husband is coming home from work? She knows that exactly! I'll be out here in the living room, and he gets home quite late. I have usually fallen asleep by then! Out comes Carly, walking on out and sits down right in front of me. She takes her little paw and hits my foot with it! My legs are reclined in the recliner! It's quite a reach for her, but she wakes me up because Daddy is coming home! 
Many people have written wonderful stories about their dogs. One man wrote a book about he and his BFF and went hiking on the Appalachian Trail! Many people have written books about their Service Dogs, or how about the books that feature Owner's and their Service Dogs. Those are amazing, in my opinion.
Real quick, I used to know two women who trained Service Dogs. They are some of the BEST dogs! The training they go through is quite amazing! I also recently met a Service Dog and it's Owner, or is it the other way around? Ha! I was waiting for my wheelchair to get new feet, okay, tires. I met a Little Person who had to be one of the smallest people I have ever seen, even from the television shows. SHE was amazing. She had a Yellow Lab as her Service Dog. The dog was three times as large as she was! That dog was quite the protector.

 Hope you enjoyed today's letter, "D". See you tomorrow! Please feel FREE to LEAVE A COMMENT! I'd LOVE it! Either on this page, or on the HOME Tab up above under 'this' article! The link for that is: http://lauriehere.blogspot.com/2012/04/this-is-all-possible-with-huge-thanks.html 
Wherever you would like to leave a comment, I'd LOVE the support and feeback! Thank you! 

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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Thursday, April 5th, 2012
Theme: "Books - Blogging"
Subject: Letter "E"
Topic: ebooks

 Blogging from A to Z Challenge - April 2012!

This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Welcome! Here we are Day 5 of our Blogging Challenge!
              Today's letter is 
                 "E"


So what do you think about ebooks? I LOVE ebooks! I LOVE the ability to be able to download them right away when I want them! I LOVE reading on my Kindle! For a person who has GREAT difficulty with her eyesight, this device is The BOMB to read on! I have 2 sets of double vision, and the Kindle helps me to be able to read! I NEVER see the double vision EVER with this! 
However, with the introduction of ebooks, does that mean 'real books on paper' are going away?
NEVER! Did you hear me? NEVER!! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!
I want ALL Authors/Writers to see this! If you have been to ALL the different Blogs I have been to, EVERYONE prefers a 'real book' over an ebook! BOOKS are given away a LOT, more so I have noticed rather than ebooks! What are people MORE apt to enter to win prizes for? REAL BOOKS!
I also belong to a program called RAK - Random Acts of Kindness, sponsored by Book Soulmates. What do MOST "ALL" people want? REAL BOOKS! NOT ebooks! You would be surprised to look at their Wish Lists from Amazon, Goodreads, and other places! People want REAL BOOKS for their HOME Libraries.
There really is nothing like a real book. To open it, to hold it, the smell of a brand new freshly printed book, etc. There is nothing like a real book!
Ebooks are wonderful in their own right as well. Instant reading. You can carry ALL your books with you wherever you go! You can read in the car! You can read anywhere! It's WONDERFUL! I LOVE it! Yet still, there are SOME books I still want as physical copies.
The downside of ebooks, as I have experienced, is when your device breaks somehow. My Kindle Keyboard, the 3G with WiFi is AWESOME!!! However, somehow the Keyboard cracked in 3 places! Plus, the right 'turn the page' button is making this loud clicking noise. 2 big problems with it that I have to fix now. It was under Warranty, but still . . . have any of you had to have YOUR Kindle replaced? It's a NIGHTMARE to get ALL your books back on the Home Screen! Plus, when you have a Book Blog, ANY book ou have received from a place such as Smashwords is a GONER! Bye-bye! This is a BIG problem! 
I like to have BOTH! My favorite books in PRINT, and then all the other books that I liked, but would not spend ALL the money on a hardcover for on my Kindle!
I just want Authors to know one other thing. I have come across some Author's pages/blogs, in which they state they are ONLY making their book available via ebook. What a HUGE LOSS! You don't know WHAT you are missing out on!
There are three reasons I can think of that people don't have Kindles yet.
1. People just have NOT yet embraced the idea of reading a book on a device, especially an 'electronic' device, as they ALWAYS EVENTUALLY FAIL.
2. People LOVE to read 'real' books. For those people, Authors, you are dong yourselves a HUGE disservice by NOT turning your ebook ONLY into a 'real book'. Your book is NOT going to be IN the bookstore! YES! People STILL go to the bookstore, and if YOUR book is NOT there, you lose out on that sale! So, if this does NOT bother you, continue on ONLY you WILL miss out!
There ARE advantages to both! I LOVE BOTH! As I think most people do!
Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!
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Friday, April 6th, 2012
Theme: Books - Blogging
Subject: Letter "F"
Topic: Friday
Blogging from A to Z Challenge - April 2012!

This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Welcome! Here we are Day 6 of our Blogging Challenge!
              Today's letter is 
          "F for Friday!"



Friday. Do you consider your weekend to start with Friday? I do. Do you make plans to read, write, or Blog more on the weekends, or do you keep your schedule clear so you can spend time with your significant other/family/friends/going out, and more? Does all of this start on Friday?
Yes, mine does, too.
It's a LOT of work to include reading, writing Blog Posts, books, participating in Challenges (LOL!), Blog Hops, and more on the weekends, especially if you have younger children, too. I have two teenagers. I don't even know I have a daughter, but my son, God love him, is here all weekend long! I LOVE it! I try to work around his schedule. If he goes out with his Buddies, then I'm on the computer doing my work the second he walks out the door! 
It is hard, though, as a lot of the time people have the housework to do, errands to run, grocery shopping, and more to do. For those of you with little ones in the house, it is EXTRA hard to do any of this. I give you SO much credit for even attempting to write whatever it may be, again, via novel, Blog, Reviews, etc. 
I try to keep up with the housework, when I am physically able, through the week, especially on Friday's. Doing it that way helps 'me' to somewhat keep control of having to do so much on Friday, or the rest of the weekend.
Along come Weekends like this one where a holiday is concerned. How do we fit in all of this when we have cooking to do? Again, it's tough. I give those of you who can fit ALL of this in on a holiday weekend!
I'm going to keep this short today, as it's the start of the weekend!
Happy Friday!
Please come back tomorrow when we discuss the letter "G"!

 Thank you for coming by!
Please leave a COMMENT BELOW! I WOULD LOVE FEEDBACK!! Share with us what you do on Friday!
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Saturday, April 7th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "G"
Topic:  Genre

 Genre

There are SO many different genres in books out there to enjoy! Take a moment today to think about all the genres you like to read and write them down. Take some time to write down other genres you do not read. Take a good look at the genres you wrote down that you do not read and take a chance on choosing a new one to read. Find a book that sounds appealing, perhaps an ebook for ease, and read that 'one' book in this genre you don't normally read. Taking this step can help you grow as a reader, even if you don't like the book. You may learn something new such as how to really use your Kindle, see beautiful photographs you may never have seen before, or learn what a HUGE family is like to have and which you may consider having, such as The Duggars! LOL! Had to put a little humor in there! 
Seriously, exploring a new genre could expand your reading interest in books tremendously. I apologize if I make you go over-budget in the book category, but it's well worth it if you find something you really like. It's nice to get out of our comfort zones as much as we don't want to sometimes.
Today enjoy that NEW genre! 
I am going to go out of my comfort zone with genres and try the book, "The Lost Book of Fragrances, a Novel of Suspense" by M J Rose. I 'do' read Suspense, but, according to Amazon, the subjects in this book include these and more: romance, history, science, esoteric, mystery, reincarnation, a haunted house, and more. I don't really know what genre you would couple all those subjects into? Perhaps a little bit of the Paranormal? Hmmm. This book does sound interesting! Here is a photo of the book I am talking about:

 I usually don't really get into the Paranormal unless it's a good paranormal, and I have no clue as to what or how it may be used in this book. I could be completely wrong in thinking this book may be Paranormal, too. Although, this includes reincarnation (which I don't believe in) and a haunted house (ghosts, which I generally don't read about at all). I LOVE fragrance! I LOVE Essential Oils! So I have a feeling I will really enjoy this book! You can read the first chapter of this book online, and it starts off with an archaeological dig, resulting in finding lost fragrances in a buried city. Sounds pretty good, huh?
What gave me this idea? I saw this book advertised on Goodreads. The Ad looked SO good, I had to look at the book closer! I did, and thought I really should try this book out! It is now on my Amazon Wish List in the Kindle Form.
So my suggestion to you is to do the same. Pick a book you would not normally read, and try it out.
Let me know what how your experiment goes with reading a different genre you are not used to, or generally don't like by coming back here to my Blog and letting me know by LEAVING A COMMENT down below! Even if you have to come back here to my Blog a week later! Don't forget to Bookmark my Blog so you can come back to tell me which genre you have tried and if you like it now or not? Will you plan on reading more in this genre? Or, tell me anything you would like to about this NEW genre choice of yours! I really look forward to reading your comments!
If YOU would like to try the above book, here is the LINK: 

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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Sunday, April 8th, is our day OFF from writing on our Blogs! See you on Monday, April 9th, for the Letter "H"!
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 This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Monday, April 9th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "H"
Topic:  Hookey


 Have you ever played HOOKEY from something? I'll admit it. I have. From school, from work, from writing, even from my Blog for a day or two! NOT something we want to readily admit! We 'do' need to do this from time to time, in my opinion. When we do this, when we come back, don't you feel refreshed? I DO! There are many times hookey is called for. Being good and going to school every day. Working and putting in overtime hours that we don't get paid for (other than perhaps a factory job or any job in which we cannot take our work home with us.) 
Playing hookey is good for the soul, I do believe. We ALL need to do this every once in a while. We may not even feel guilty about it! Or, perhaps we do when we do it, but afterwards, we DO feel great! We needed that time! We work so hard day after day, and sometimes well into the evenings and past midnight that a day of hookey is okay!
PLEASE leave a COMMENT FOR ME and tell ME what YOU have done when YOU have played hookey! I'd LOVE to hear YOUR STORY!!!
Besides, I LOVE COMMENTS!!!
I'll be waiting to see what comes through!
Thanks!
Laurie
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 This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "I"
Topic:  "IF"

 From the Oxford Dictionary that comes with our Kindle, the definition of "If" is as follows:
If:
1. Introducing a conditional clause: (they give examples)
2. Despite the possibility that; no matter whether: if it takes me seven years, I shall do it
3. (often used in indirect questions) whether: he asked if we would like some coffee / I wonder if she noticed
4. (with modal) expressing a polite request: if I could just use the phone, I'll get a taxi / if you wouldn't mind giving him a message
5. expressing an opinion: that's a jolly long walk, if you don't mind my saying so / if you ask me, he's in love.
6. expressing surprise or regret: well, if it isn't Frank!
7. with implied reservation:
and perhaps not: the new leaders have little if any control.
and more examples
Phrases
if and only if used to introduce a condition which is necessary as well as sufficient: Alice will come if and only if Charles and Edward are both going to be there.
if and when at a future date and time (should it arise) most of thoese plans can be altered if and when the situation changes
if anything used to suggest tentatively that something may be the case (often the opposite of something previously implied): I haven't made much of this - if anything, I ve played it down.
if only 
 *even if for no other reason than: Willy would have to tell George more, if only to stop him pestering.
 *used to express a wish, especially regretfully: if only I had listened to you.
if so if that is the case.
(origin) Old English gif of Germanic origin; related to Dutch of and German ob.
Usage: If and whether are more or less interchangeable in sentences like I'll see if he left an address and I'll see whether he left an address, although whether is generally regarded as more formal and suitable for written use.

 Okay, now that we've learned the definition of the word "If" means, it has a lot of possible meanings and ways of using it.
My intention with this word today, and I wanted to make sure I was using it correctly, and I am, is to ask you if you have ever wondered things or thought of things or used it for the future. Such as:
If only I had done this . . . 
If only I did not do this . . . 
If I did do that, I could have done this . . . 
If in the future I do this . . . 
If in the past I didn't do . . .
If I do this today, how will it . . . 
If I don't do this now . . . 
How many of you have asked yourselves these questions on a daily basis? I think I do many times every day. I think we always ask ourselves "if" regarding ALL kinds of different situations. Good or bad. Positive or negative. Thinking. Tossing thoughts around. Deciding about what to do. Thinking about decisions we have made.
This can even apply to writing book reviews, to authors writing their stories into books, to ordinary people going about their day.
Have you ever caught yourself thinking of "If"?
IF you have, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT TELLING US ABOUT IT! I would LOVE to hear about it! I've asked myself "If" many times! Daily! So please share!
"If".
Thanks!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "J"
Topic:  "Jack and Jill"

 Ah, Jack and Jill. Remember those books? We all, or most of us, at least, first learned to read from those books. Nursery Rhymes. Our parents read them to us often, and I think we may have memorized the rhyming books rather than  actually reading them! In time, though, we did learn how to recognize the letters when we saw them, and learned how to sound out the words from that. What books did you learn to read from?
Some people even learned to read with Dick and Jane! "See Dick run. See Jane walk." Remember? Ah, yes! Learning to read. I guess it kind of tells our age, too, as to what books we started to learn to read with! Shhh! I guess we shouldn't admit what books we learned to read with, as this way no one will know our 'real' age! 
Learning to read is one of the most fundamental things we learn right away as young children, and one of the things that make us feel the most proud, too.  At those young ages, we learn at unbelievable rates. We can still, to this day, remember what we were taught in elementary school more so than in higher grades, I believe. We can all rattle off our times tables without even thinking about them, and we spell correctly from elementary school, too. We learned a lot about history, too. Our minds at that age just soak up information.
What books/novels do you remember reading in school?
I remember loving to read the Dr. Seuss books, first, then it was "Super Fudge" by Judy Blume, and all of the Fudge books. Judy Blume really could take you through from childhood, through puberty and beyond to adulthood. Then there were and still are the tried and true, "The Hardy Boys, by Franklin W Dixon.  I LOVED the Hardy Boys! There is also "Nancy Drew" by Carolyn Keene. Nancy Drew, I thought was okay, but I loved the Hardy Boys much better. I read through the entire set. One day I was sick, and had to stay home from school. The day before that in school had been 'Library Day'. We got to go to the library every two weeks. We were only allowed to check out two books at a time. Bummer. I was always wanting more than the two allowed books. Back in that day we did not have Wish Lists, either. We had to remember the books we wanted. So that day I stayed home from school, I read both my Hardy Boy's books in a row, and enjoyed them immensely. I then went on to a Nancy Drew book I owned. I remember that day like the back of my hand! That is a day I will never forget. I read all day long. It was wonderful! Now, as an adult, it's much harder to just spend an entire day reading like that, as we have all kinds of responsibilities to tend to. Sometimes if we do take time to read, we often have that guilt feeling. Why do we do that to ourselves? We should not!
What we have to do is to make reading our priority. If we do that, then we will learn how to carve out hours of time to be able to do so and enjoy it even more without feelings of guilt!
Today I would like you to rethink the way you do your priorities so you have more time to read. After all, you took the time to learn how to read, even if it was Jack and Jill. Make time for just 'you' to read. You will thank me in the future!
See you tomorrow with the letter "K".
Thanks for reading!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Thursday, April 12th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "K"
Topic:  Kindle

 Kindle. How can I have EVER lived without it? I LOVE my Kindle! Do you have a Kindle or other ereading device? Don't you wonder how you have ever lived without it? I do!
I still love the original book, and will always continue to purchase books, but, I LOVE my Kindle! I actually love to read on it MORE so than out of a book. I think the reason is I do have trouble with my eyesight, and when reading out of a book, I need to use a bookmark a few lines below the sentence of where I am reading. I'm used to that by now. When it come to the Kindle, I don't have to do that. I love that. My two sets of double vision don't seem to bother me at all with the Kindle. I am assuming it is the pearl ink. Well, I love it.
The other thing I LOVE about it is it is so much easier to read on instead of trying to juggle a book. Books can be heavy if hardcover, and hard to hold still or open on your lap. Paperbacks tend to fall apart after it gets read by a second person, which is why I tend to stick with the hardcovers. The Kindle can even have cases that stand up like a photo frame, which is what I have! You can eat AND read at the same time! I get a LOT more reading done this way! The other thing I really like is after my shower, putting on all the lotions and potions that us women do, we can turn the voice on and STILL READ!!! I LOVE IT!!! One other time I painted my nails and turned the voice on. It was nice! It's to hard to do that while doing housework or dishes. The voice is not loud enough. I wish it were a little louder than what it is. I am disappointed with that. I have gotten one audiobook and it still seemed as if it were almost to quiet. When there is other noise in the house, you can't hear it to well unless you put headphones on. This is supposedly made for audiobooks, too. I sure would be disappointed if I purchased or joined the audiobook plan they have and NOT be able to hear it like I would like to!
There is so much controversy over the e-readers vs. physical books, and some of it I do agree with. Let's start with books versus ebooks. I have come across many authors who have decided to 'only' publish ebooks. I disagree with them. I feel you 'should' publish 'books' in addition to the ebook. Why? Many people only like physical books, and other prefer ebooks. Some people like both and purchase both. I feel the author is 'shooting themselves in their own feet' when they decide to do this. Have they considered that 'only 12% of the population owns an ereader?' Yes. As of January, that was the last statistic I read. As for reading on one's computer, heck with that! Who wants to strain their eyes long enough until you cannot see any longer with 'computer eyes'? (Eye strain). Out of ALL my friends, "I" am the ONLY one who owns a Kindle, or ANY ereader. Okay, then you refer to the phones that have applications to download to read a book on them. Those screens are SMALL! Even the larger screened phones are still much smaller than the Kindle's screen. Let's refer to eye strain, again! So if those authors WANT to shoot themselves in the foot, let them. They will just lose out on possible sales of their physical books. Not to mention the fact that some people just LIKE PHYSICAL BOOKS!
Another issue that is out there, and I completely AGREE with is pricing. I REFUSE to pay more than $10 for ANY ebook. Currently the publishers seem to have INCREASED THE PRICE OF THE NEW RELEASE BOOKS FOR THE KINDLE TO $12.99. Let's see. I got my Kindle 1 year ago this month. The NEW RELEASES 'then' were $9.99. EVERY time New Releases came out, the prices for the ebook format INCREASED by $1 or $2. Why? Now, we are currently at $12.99. I WON'T PAY THAT! The Publishers most likely pay, oh, let's guess at less than $5 for an ebook version and they are charging us HOW many times HIGHER for their books? Why? What is the reason for the price increase every couple of months when the slew of new releases come out? GREED! I usually budget about $50 a month for books. That may seem like a lot of money for casual books, but I am a Book Blogger, and do participate in a few programs, like RAK, Random Acts of Kindness. We go to each others' Wish Lists and purchase books for each other as a RAK. It's SO much fun! The price increases lessen the amount of books we can purchase for each other when the Publishes continue to increase their e-prices. Myself and many other people REFUSE to purchase books at $12.99! We don't do it no matter HOW bad we WANT the book! I often wonder if the publisher's have noticed a DROP IN SALES? They should! I don't know if you noticed this or not, but Young Adult books cost LESS than the Adult books do! Same for Childrens books! So the publishers target the Adults. WE have more money than either of the other two? Ha!
Then I think to myself, is this a "TEST" to see how much money we ARE WILLING to pay for the ebooks? The ebooks really are still in their infancy. Until MORE people have ereaders, that is what the pricing will tell. In the meantime, WE have to either pay the price, or wait until they DROP the price, which they DO eventually. I just feel this is NOT RIGHT! This is NOT what I bought my Kindle for - to be an experiment!
For one thing, I trust NOTHING ELECTRONIC!!! How MANY of us have lost our ENTIRE COMPUTERS? We have lost EVERYTHING in them! What if it comes to the point where we lose EVERYTHING in our Kindles? I HAVE! My Kindle Keyboard cracked and I had to get a replacement. I LOST ALL my notes, highlights in ALL my books, plus a calendar I had EVERYTHING in! So what was the point of purchasing a few programs that I had my LIFE in? We know that happens to electronic equipment! This is the reason I REFUSE to pay OVER $10 for ANY Kindle book! I am also NOT done transferring books I have purchased from other places. That is the hard part, too. Trying to figure out where the books came from, such as Project Gutenberg, Smashwords, etc. Some authors have even 'gifted' me books. I did NOT keep them in my computer after downloading them into my Kindle. I don't want my computer space taken up by books. They take a large amount of room.
Okay. Other than those FEW issues, which are rather large, I 'still' LOVE my Kindle! I have to do a stand-off. Do I want the physical book, or do I want the ebook?

I LOVE how Independent Authors can publish their 'debut' books on Amazon's publishing program! I have found many NEW authors that I love this way! It has opened the door to you and I as well. "WE" could publish a book if we so chose to! This is GREAT!
The specials Amazon has on Free or Low priced books are great, too! Or, how about the 'book of the day'? It's great!

Thanks for reading today's post! Sorry about today's length! I do keep these short, except for today! Sorry!
Hope you'll come back tomorrow for the letter "L"!
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! What do you think about the Kindle? Do you like it? What do you think about the prices continuously increasing? Do you feel as I do about electronic items? Then PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!!! I'd LOVE to hear what you think! 
Thanks!
Laurie
UPDATE: THIS "JUST IN" IF YOU GO TO THIS LINK: http://dailycheapreads.com/2012/04/12/housekeeping-is-it-just-me/ THERE IS A VIDEO THAT TALKS ABOUT THE BOOK PUBLISHERS FINALLY ALLOWING RETAILERS TO SET THEIR OWN PRICES ON EBOOKS!!! VICTORY!!! HOWEVER, YES, THERE IS A CLAUSE. THIS APPLIES TO ONLY 3 PUBLISHERS AND "ONLY FOR 2 YEARS". THEY ARE:
SIMON & SCHUSTER
HARPER COLLINS
HACHETTE
YES! The video says that Ebook prices should drop drastically from these three Publishers! For instance, the Steve Jobs book that is $15 right now, should DROP to $9.99!
I'm SURE other Publishers WILL DO THE SAME THING!
So what I was talking and complaining about regarding the ebooks, looks like we will FINALLY get some RELIEF with the ebook prices! YES! Well, at least for two years! Hey, BETTER than NOT!

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*NEW UPDATE: Yesterday's article on the letter "K" for Kindle - At the end of my article I wrote an UPDATE about the PRICE FIXING OF EBOOKS BY PUBISHERS and 3 PUBLISHERS HAVE NOW DECIDED TO ALLOW RETAILERS TO SET THEIR OWN PRICES ON EBOOKS "BUT", there IS ALWAYS a BUT, it is ONLY for two years! I gave you a LINK yesterday to go to and read about it and to watch a video there. The link above this letter has the link. At that same Blog, they have written another article with a LOT MORE LINKS to go to to get MORE INFORMATION YOU SHOULD READ. Go there and read it. It  explains MORE about the pricing of ebooks, what it means to the consumer, for the future, and MORE in detail. 
Here is the LINK: http://dailycheapreads.com/2012/04/13/links-to-articles-about-the-agency-modelapple-lawsuit-and-settlement/ 
This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Friday, April 13th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "L"
Topic:  Library

 The Library. One of the first huge 'stores' of books we go to as children. We are mesmerized by it. It is huge. The books. So many books. Where do I go? What books do I want to read? Where are the books I like? Do they have magazines, too? Machines. What are those things? Microfiche machines. Now computers. Wow! 
Libraries are NOT overrated. They are DIVINE places to go. Yes, this is a store of books galore, and they are ALL FREE! WOW! We all know how the library works, but I'm going to go over it anyway and add a few more things. Perhaps your children could benefit by this article, or someone else who has never gone can benefit from it. This article may also bring back some memories for you! 
You borrow them for a month at a time. You can borrow so many in one subject, at least that is our 'law' here!  My County Library really does count them! Libraries have a distinct smell. An odor of old books. The pages of the books have a certain feel to them, as so many other people have read that same book you are holding in your hands right that moment. Today, we use a type of credit card to check out a book. Does anyone remember the old-fashioned way? The book had a pocket on the inside cover that held an index-type card that you signed your name on, and you were given a piece of paper to put inside that envelope with the due date on it. It was kind of like a card exchange, in a way. 
I still like to go to the library today, but to be honest, I have not gone in years. When I used to go, I would do my homework at home before I went so when I got there I knew exactly what books I wanted to get to read. Our library has all their books on the computer that the public can access. We can request books from home, go in, and pick the bag of books up just like a Fast Food Restaurant. Amazing!
When I would get to the Library, I would always go to the 'New Releases' section  first. Our library tends to keep books on that shelf that are up to a year old or more. I do not know why. I always managed to find at least one good book in all of them on the shelf. New Releases are due back within 2 weeks instead of one month like all the other books. This still is a hard thing to do. Remembering  what books and magazines are due and when. Magazines are only allowed to be checked out for 1 week. Now we are given a printed receipt that looks exactly like a store receipt. That used to be confusing to me because I would put that receipt in my wallet, and inevitably, I would end up throwing it out accidentally. Libraries house so much knowledge written by so many people, it's amazing if you stop to think about it. Just think if we did not have libraries. What would our lives be like? We would never be able to get those books that are out of print anymore. We could not get GREAT service from the Librarians. Here is another new thing. Now there are Master's Degrees in Library Science. You never heard of that about 20 years ago! At least I never did until my ex sister-in-law mastered in it.
Let's go to our local library within this next month. Let's show them our support and borrow a few books. Let's THANK a librarian for all he or she does or has done for you!
Enjoy your library and always support them! We NEED them!

 Thanks for reading today's article. I hope you enjoyed it. And, as ALWAYS, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!!! Tell ME what YOU think about Libraries and/or about the ebook pricing!
I'll see you back tomorrow with the letter "M".
Thanks and Bye for now!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Saturday, April 14th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "M"
Topic:  Money

 Money. Ah, yes, the age old topic. We never have enough, do we? This is coming from a Reader's standpoint. I don't know about you, but I do and I don't set a certain monthly budget on purchasing books. I do to a degree, but I'm not dead set in that amount.
Why? Every now and then that one book comes around that you 'just have to have'. When that happens I want to be able to buy that book.
I don't think you can set a certain amount of money, a 'set' budget and keep it at that all the time. New Releases come out, or you find that one book you have been wanting to read for forever, and you've got to have it. You know you'll never get the opportunity again. This is it! Now or never! 
How about the great deals, or bargain bins, clearances, half off sales and more like that! Oh, my! Those can be heaven! There it is! That ONE book you've been wanting to read is there, right in front of your eyes! You grab it. You hold onto that book tight. You are HAPPY! You've found that book! That GEM!
Do you have the money for it? Is it going to throw you over your budget? Yes. Do I have the money for it? Yes! Am I going to get it? YES! Am I happy now? YES!
When I get home, I add the book to my To Be Read pile. Am I as happy as I was before I had that book? Yes and no. Why is that? I'm so excited I found that book, but now the excitement of 'trying to find it' is gone.
Oh, well. Now there's this other book I've been wanting to find and I've got to have that book.
The cycle starts all over again! Now here's my opportunity to thank and to blame all those AWESOME AUTHORS out there! Thank you for writing such GREAT books, but hey, you are kind of making me go broke! Or, I could look at it this way, we need to make MORE MONEY! Since I'm disabled and can't work, I've GOT to go talk to my husband! "Oh, honey . . . ".
Hope you have a GREAT weekend! We are 'off' tomorrow, Sunday, and will return on Monday with the letter "N"! We are now at the half way point in our Challenge! Writer's, how do you feel so far? Does it feel like we are at the 1/2 way mark? Does it feel like it has been forever, or does it feel like it has just started? I'm enjoying this very much myself!
Thanks for stopping by! PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! Either on this page, or on the Home Page! I'd LOVE to hear if this same thing happens to you with YOUR book budget. Do you always have enough money to buy ALL the books you want every month?
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Monday, April 16th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "N"
Topic:  Notes
Hello! Today is Monday and we are back at posting for our A to Z Challenge! Hope your weekend was WONDERFUL! I spent mine doing taxes. UGH. Boring. Time consuming. Just awful. ALL I wanted to do was read!
I wait till the last minute every year because we ALWAYS owe money. Better to 'not' know how much until the time is here! Caution: I am writing this article on NO SLEEP! So bear with me if I have typos! I have almost been up for over 24 hours now!
OH! On to my TOPIC! "NOTES!" I got side-tracked!
For ALL the Bloggers and out there, (and Authors, I have a question for you towards the end of this Post!) just how many of you take notes while you are reading a book, in order to help you write your book review better and easier? I do now! I never used to until the last couple of months. I would find myself trying to find and remember the name of someone or something, and could NOT find it, or many other things I needed for the review. If it was an ebook, that made it even harder to find. Since most of the books I review are in ebook form, I did decide that I was going to take notes and write them down on paper. Now I 'do' highlight passages on the Kindle as I am reading along, and that does help too, but, to see it on paper is even better. Between the two, I am all set! 
I have a gazillion notebooks. One is just for Review Books. I write the names of the books and the authors names in the front, and in the back of the notebook I write down the reviews that I do and that need to be done. In the middle of that notebook I am now including my RAK's - The Random Acts of Kindness gifts I have given and gifts I have received. I used to keep just one notebook going at a time, with notes, email addy's, Blog addy's, names of people, the books I needed to review and the author, and all kinds of other notes in it. Over time it turned into several notebooks and as they filled up, they were all over the place. I found myself going crazy trying to find which notebook I wrote 'what' in. So I am trying to simplify my notebook process.
I buy those black and white marbled cover notebooks in August/September. I hit the 'back to school' sales and stock up for the year of EVERYTHING I could possibly need throughout the year. At least I try to do it this way. This year I got a real bum deal on pencils. They won't even sharpen! You get what you pay for! This year I had my husband pick up 20 of those black and white marbled notebooks. I am in notebook heaven ready for ALL the note taking I could possibly need! I AM using them like crazy! It IS GREAT to be able to go over to my armoire where I keep everything, and just grab a new one out. I have always LOVED those notebooks. Do you think it is because it kind of looks like a book? I think it is! So I am keeping a notebook for just 'notes', 'books for reviews, reviews to be written, and RAK's in the middle, another notebook for another thing, and another and another. It's working out great for me doing it this way! I love it so far. Now I am not going crazy looking for that certain notebook that I wrote whatever note in as each notebook is labeled on the front as to what it is.
I am sure there is ALWAYS room for improvement! I'm sure I'll change it a little again, too!
So, what is YOUR system of note taking? Do you do what I do and have several notebooks going at one time specifically for certain topics? For the authors out there, do you keep 'one' notebook per book you are currently writing, or do you keep your notes in your head? You most likely have several book ideas going on at one time, so do you have notebooks for every book? If not, how do you keep your notes all together and HOW do you find them? I would LOVE to know how you take notes and how you keep the organized, and how you use them, too. I would LOVE to know how, from an author's perspective just how you do it!
Bloggers, do you keep notes and how do you do it? Do you do it like I do mine? Just how do you make and use your notes?
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT and tell me DO YOU KEEP NOTES, AND HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR NOTES? What are your suggestions on note taking and keeping them all organized?
Thank you for stopping by for today's letter "N"!
After you LEAVE A COMMENT, you can go to ALL the blogs in this Challenge and HOP from Blog to Blog! Just click on the 4th photo down, the one that is a video with the letters of the alphabet! You can't miss it! It takes you to the HUB of this Challenge!
WARNING - There are close to 2,000 other blogs in this Challenge! Wow! This IS by FAR the largest Challenge I have EVER participated in! If YOU can make it to EVERY blog, tell me!!! I would LOVE to know HOW you have done it! 
Enjoy!
Laurie

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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "O"
Topic:  Original

 It fascinates me how every book I pick up is an original story. Every book differs and has it's own story that has never been written before. How does this happen that no other book repeats another? Out of the millions and millions of books that have been written, no two are alike in any way. I wonder this every book I pick up! Authors are SO ORIGINAL! Their minds must always be going with ideas for stories in their heads. I can only imagine. On second thought, I cannot imagine how many stories are going through their heads! It outright amazes me! Even the authors styles of writing all differs. All people in this entire world are different. People are ALL original. Each one of us. Amazing!
I think to myself if I were a writer, what kind of story would I write about? I know some of the stories would be based on some of the experiences of real people in my life. I think of ALL the people in the world and how original every single person is and how their friends and family may be very similar to mine, but it still differs. Every one of those people have experienced life in a different way. They have all seen things differently than I have, experienced them, heard about things, live in a different area than I do. Sometimes when I really get thinking about this, I realize what a little bubble I live in, as compared to some people. This just amazes me. Doesn't it amaze you?
The world is a HUGE place. The population is huge, and keeps growing. You would think somewhere along the line that someone would be experiencing  some of the same things. If we do experience some of the same things, they are still different because every person on this earth is different. Even when we experience things that are very similar or close to the same, we internalize these experiences in different ways, and think about them in different ways. Our thoughts are different about these experiences as are our how we react to them. What could be great for us is horrifying for another. Vice versa. 
It just goes to show everyone that even if you don't think you are a special person, you ARE special! You are original! 
Originality. What a concept! So many ways every person is so special/original. I always knew this was so, but until recently when I really gave it a thought how every book is so different, and no two books I have read have been alike, this really hit me that the same is true with people, and with authors, and that this is why no two books are alike.
Take some time today and think of all the people you know, and all the people you don't know. Think about how different each and every one of these people are. Different, special, all are original, as are every single book you have read, or will read in the future.

 Thanks for coming by today! If you go up to the top of this page, click on the fourth picture down. That will take you to the Blogging From A to Z Challenge - April 2012 Blog. It will list the almost 2,000 other Blogs that are ALL participating in this Challenge! Guess what? Each and every Blog is original!
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! I would LOVE to hear what you have to say about all the different kinds of 'original'! 
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "P"
Topic:  "Popular"

 Do you read the most popular books that are out, or do you read other things?
I find that I do tend to read some of the most popular books that are out there. Why? I have two reasons as to why. They tend to be advertised much more than any of the other GREAT books that are out there, and if I put them on the back burner to read later, even if I write them down in one of my Notebooks, (please see the "Letter M" article I wrote. It is above. This will explain my 'notebooks'.) or if I make 'one' Notebook 'just for' books I want to read, if I don't put an explanation down as to what the book is about, I 'might' just not read them. This is what I have learned about myself. I now have an entire Notebook 'just' for 'Books I Want to Read'. This helps and it helps even MORE if I write a little description down as to what the book is about. So, yes, I 'just' started to do this.
Previously, in the past, I have not had 'ONE' place where I kept the books I want to read at. They might have been on papers scattered here, there, and everywhere. That was not a good way of keeping those books I want to read together. Most of the time I would lose those little papers, or end up transferring them to another paper, then lose that paper, too! So I made a new Notebook!
I like to read the popular books that are out right away! I do so because of all the hype about them, and I want to be 'in' with the rest of the crowd who is reading the books at the same time. You often find Reading Groups discussing the popular books, and I want to get in on it, too. I feel like I am in the 'in crowd'. I feel as if I am right up-to-date, too. I like that feeling!
Do you find yourself reading the most popular books that are out there first, over the books that are on your 'To Be Read' list, too, like I do? If so, then tell me about it!
LEAVE A COMMENT telling me what books you read, the popular ones or the ones on your 'To Be Read' list, and why you do it!
Thanks for stopping by today, again! 
I'll see you tomorrow with the letter "Q"! I'll bet you think that letter is a hard one! NOPE! I knew what I wanted to write about that letter right from the start!
Enjoy your day, and don't forget to scroll up above to the 4th picture and click on it! It will take you to the list of almost 2,000 other Blogs that are participating in this Challenge, too! Visit some of those other Blogs! You may find some you LOVE and WANT to bookmark so you can revisit them at a later date and time! I have!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!


Thursday, April 19th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "Q"
Topic:  "Quality vs. Quantity"

 With all these FREE or 99cents books out there, and there is an overabundance of them, I start to wonder whether or not I have quality books, or if I just have  quantity in my elibrary if and when I purchase these or grab them for free.
When I purchase a 99cents ebook or download a free one, (and this goes for ALL lower priced ebooks) I always make sure I read the synopsis and reviews on the book first to see if I may like it. This is where book reviews are SO important. 
If I see a book only has 2 or 3 reviews on it, I will click on each person's review, especially if the review is a short 2 or 3 liner and the review is generally 'generic' or 'vague'. When that happens, in my opinion, I believe the person who wrote that review is a friend, an associate, or is related to the author. Sure enough, when I click on the name of that person, they have written only '1' review in their entire history on Amazon. 
What does this tell me? That I am most likely correct in my assumption that  the reviewer's of that book IS a a friend, a business associate, or a family member who may not have even read the book. In this case, the author probably has not taken the time to request reviews from Book Reviewers/Bloggers and has taken the book directly to Amazon and put it on special first before requesting book reviews. 
WHY would an author commit 'Russian Roulette' like this with their writing career, and why do I say it is that? Because there is SO much riding on the book reviews that particular author does NOT have when they offer a book for free! Just imagine how the 'real' reviews are going to come in! Probably not as well as the author had hoped for had they had their book reviewed, in particular, by Book Bloggers, and NOT offering that book for FREE or at the 99cent price as soon as their book is published on Amazon. Many times after not-so-good reviews come in, an author will go back to the book and make changes where necessary after a Book Reviewer/Blogger has written a review suggesting they didn't like this or that, but did like this or that, authors can then make some changes. However, this comes with consequences because that review IS going to be PUBLISHED!  That review could bring down the overall rating of the book if it's a great book! If the author had caught wind of errors or listened to the advice of the reviewers reviews, they would have made changes to their book immediately. 
Without reviews, how can you offer a book at 99cents or free if you don't have any reviews yet? Are people going to buy their book especially if there are only 2 or maybe 3 'generic' reviews? Again, like I said above, if there are bad reviews left on the book, NO review can ever be removed or deleted. There are going to be issues with editing and about the book in whole, again, good and bad that cannot be changed at this point because now the Author cannot go back to the book and re-edit it.
What do I do when I see or suspect "Generic" reviews? I 'don't' buy the book, nor do I download it for free. I refuse to waste my time reading a book when an author  has gone and taken the easy route, as compared to ALL the other authors I know who have worked so, so, SO HARD getting reviews on their books before EVER offering their book for the 99cents OR for FREE!
Why don't I get the book? I do NOT purchase the book because most likely the author feels their work is outstanding and they can bypass ALL the hard work, blood, sweat and TEARS that ALL the other authors have gone through getting reviews from reviewers/bloggers. Those authors then went back to their book and altered this or that.! 
(*Disclaimer - Regarding what I just wrote and said about some authors - I could be right, OR I could be wrong, BUT, I have been Book Blogging for almost 2 years now, and this has been my experience so far.)
I just feel it is wrong to write a book, self publish through Amazon, then put it up for free immediately and 'hope' to get great sales and reviews. Honestly, in my opinion again, that is asking for self-destruction. Why do I say this? Well, you NEED reviews on your book BEFORE you bring for free or 99cents to the entire United States and Canada! (As for the book being free or low priced in other countries, I do not know the answer to that.) When I see ANY author with the 'generic reviews',  I get this 'gut feeling' that says WARNING! Something is most likely wrong with that book. What was the rush? Why did the author NOT take the time to obtain reviews on their work before offering it for free? Does this author socialize with other authors, or are they friends with other authors? I would be willing to bet that answer is no, as well, because most all authors will tell you not to do this. Other authors and author friends would suggest to each other to GET REVIEWS FIRST BEFORE OFFERING YOUR BOOK FOR FREE! 
Reviews by Book Bloggers are generally very good because they review books ALL the time. This is SO important! They are the ones who are going to be honest with you and point out the idiosyncrasies, etc. Authors 'need' this so their book appeals to a wider audience rather than just the audience who scouts out free or very low cost books. Remember, we are wanting "Quality" books. 
Having your book at a low price does not necessarily bring in the good Reviews. It may sell fast and furious at first, but then wait for the reviews to come in. ANY individual can think their book is excellent. "I" could think 'this' article is the BEST there is in the world, have a top reviewer read it, and it will get shot down in several places! We, as individuals, are self biased! It is simple as that. 
Reviews = quality=quantity!      
So, this IS where Quality and NOT Quantity comes into the picture.  
Thanks for reading this today!!
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!!!! I WOULD LOVE to hear what you have to say about this!!!!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Friday, April 20th, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "R"
Topic:  "Reading"

 Ah, reading. What could be better than reading?
Yet many people have many other hobbies besides reading. They work on all kinds of things. Woodworking, Motorcycles, Boats, Crocheting, Knitting, Cooking, Child Care, and more. There are tooooo many hobbies to list! Do you know what brings together ALL of these hobbies? Reading!
Why would a hobby bring about reading?
Well, every hobby has printed materials about that particular one. Be it books, magazines, newsletters, and more! I would be willing to be you never thought of that! Well, look at that one Bookclub for Crafter's. They offer millions of hobby books for every kind of craft/hobby. There are other specifically media related sources that are geared towards a certain hobby as well. Even the Internet may have online clubs to join for that particular hobby, too!
When you have a hobby you love to do, you are going to want to get your hands on everything there is to read about your hobby.
What about your kids? I'm sure you have read to then a million times when they were little. Even right down to their first little squeeky, plastic books that usually have a few letters of the alphabet in them. 
Reading, by itself, is a wonderful hobby to have! This is my hobby! To the extreme! As if you didn't know this already! LOL! 
There are just SO many things to learn about when reading, the knowledge is limitless. 
Do yourself a favor today - pick up a book to read!
Do another thing for me, please? Pass a book to a friend! To share the LOVE of reading is a gift unlock any other! It's a gift of a LIFETIME!
Please LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU WOULD LIKE!
Thanks for reading today! I'll see you back tomorrow with the Letter "S"!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Saturday, April 21st, 2012
Theme: Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "S"
Topic:  "Sale"

 So there is a SALE on books! Yes! I'm GAME! WHO can, in their right mind, resist a sale? I don't know, but if you can resist a sale, something must be wrong with you! Sorry!
The kind of sales I am thinking about are on BOOKS,Of course! The sales I usually frequent are on Amazon, and I'll usually grab ebooks for my Kindle! Although, if it is a book my husband will like, too, and with ONLY '1' Kindle in the house, I will HAVE to buy it in hard copy so my husband can read it, too! We like some of the same genres!
Today I also went to Barnes & Noble to pick up my box of books for World Book Night THIS MONDAY, APRIL 23rd!!! I'm SOOOO excited! I get to pass out Michael Connelly's "Blood Work"!
Are any of you working the World Book Night by passing out FREE books to people on Monday, April 23rd? I am! I am! 
For you, it's a GREAT way to get people into reading for next year, right? I hope so! A LOT of companies have come together to print these books to give to 'very light' to 'almost NOT reading at all' kinds of people to GET THEM INTO READING!  I hope I can find a LOT of people to hand my books out to!
The LOVE of reading brings me SO much enjoyment!
At the book store today, there WERE sales, mostly clearance books, but I checked them out and bought '1' book! Yes! ME! ONLY 1 book! I was a good girl! Heck, my To Be Read lists are WAY LONG enough, already! 

 Now I need to address the condition of Barnes and Noble is in here, by my home. I live in Port Huron, Michigan, and we were hit HARD by the Recession/Depression. Give or take whichever word you want to use. Due to my disability, I don't go out of the house much because it hurts a LOT and tires me to NO END! Yes, one little outing to the store, I get home, and fall asleep for the rest of the day OR night! 12 hours later, I am having trouble with body spasms, but . . . was it fun for every once in a while? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Barnes & Noble here. HALF the store is EMPTY!!! There used to be bookshelves SURROUNDING the four walls. One ENTIRE WALL IS EMPTY!!! You wouldn't notice it if they hadn't tried to compact it as much as they have, but . . . WOW!
Some of the largest store chains, aside from one such as a Walmart, or Levi's, any HUGE name that has been around for a LOT LONGER than Barnes & Noble, are still hanging on. As for most ALL of the other chain stores, I couldn't BEGIN to tell you how MANY of them have sunk here in our town. 
I AM worried about this HUGE chain store! In a way, I "DO" wish they would go under! Sorry if this offends anyone, BUT, they stole SO much business from ANY OTHER INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE IN OUR ENTIRE TOWN, AND SURROUNDING TOWNS. B&N is the ONLY bookstore that OWNS the ENTIRE MONOPOLY, and I don't think that is right! 
I had my Kindle with me and I price checked against Amazon! Ha, ha! Amazon BEAT THEM BY FAR!!! It was hilarious! B&N wants the FULL cover prices of their books, AND YOU HAD BETTER BE A MEMBER!!! Pay that $25 for the YEAR!!!!! Bologna!!! This has been the FIRST TIME IN OVER TWO YEARS since I have gone to that store! One due to my disability, but two, due to NOT having money! We were on Unemployment, and WHO can survive on that? BARELY! I, honest to God, after doing our tax returns, do NOT know HOW we made it this last year????? ALL thanks goes to my husband! My disability pay paid the bills, but his unemployment paid for groceries, medications as we had NO medical insurance, either! 
So is it a wonder that that store is suffering??? NO! The people who were in the store were NOT browsers. They came in with a mission, got what they needed, and were OUT! GONE! I saw '1' browser. Although, she browsed maybe 10 minutes and was GONE! She was only browsing the New Releases in Paperback. OH!!!! Talk about New Releases!!! They had a section for Adult Fiction, YA Fiction, Middle Grade and Kids. Each shelf highlight one or two books ONLY! That was IT on the New Release!!! Amazing! You could NOT go in and pick up a copy of just 'any' New Release! They did NOT have it! 
Well, we can hope business picks up for them, or, if they go out, the little guys can come back in. Personally, I tend to vote for the "little guy"!
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "T"
Topic:    "Top Ten Books"

This week's Top Ten Books on the Best Seller List
     (Combined Print and E-book Fiction)
          Week ending April 21, 2012

1.  Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James

 2.  Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James

3.  Calico Joe by John Grisham
 
4.  Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E L James 

 5.  The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

 6.  Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Ellis

 7.  On the Island by Ms Tracey L Garvis Graves (Indie Author!)

 8.  A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George P R Martin

 9.  Come Home by Lisa Scottoline

 10. The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst (Indie Author!)

 There we have it! GREAT books! The names of the books are "all" LINKS that take you to them at Amazon, so go ahead and click on them to have a look! They ALL sound good to me! I cannot pick 'just one'. Sorry!
I have had 'On the Island' on my Wish List for a while now!
There are even MORE books listed, up to 15! At the New York Times Best Seller List for the week of April 21st, 2012!

 See you tomorrow for the letter "U"! 
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Monday, April 23nd, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "U"
Topic:    "Understand"

 Have you ever read a book and as you are going along you stop, think to yourself I don't understand this?
This has happened to me many a times. I don't understand WHERE the author is coming from or WHERE they are going. If, within the next few chapters I still don't get an idea of where this story is going, I ditch it. Why go on if I don't have a clue as to what the author is trying to get across? There is no reason.
This can occur for a variety of reasons. The author may not have done a good enough outline for their book to follow it, or while writing they keep getting off course, such as ADHD! I'm serious. The author is trying SO hard to get their point across they want a BIG BANG at the end. (Well, if this is their reasoning, you've lost me and I will never get to the end!) Or, the writer just flat-out stinks at writing.
I like to be able to understand what I am reading, and for the most part, almost every book I have read I have understood it just fine. There are those few I will NEVER understand. I would NEVER admit 'who' those authors are, but I am tempted so no one else reads them. 
Then there are those books I completely understand but have a huge issue with the story. If I went into detail on some of these you might be able to guess who, so I won't. These authors will have a GREAT subject, but throw things in that if they had used their common sense, (maybe they don't have any or think if they are writing a book they don't need to use it?) and NOT put those scenarios in the book, the book would hold much more value to the story. These are the kind of books when you finish them you put them down just shaking your head and thinking 'why'? 
Most ALL of the time, I always understand what I am reading, except for the given FEW. Thankfully.

 Thanks for reading today's letter "U"! Now, scroll up to the TOP of this page, the 4th picture down is ever-changing! Click on that and you can go see almost 2,000 other Blogs also participating in this SAME Challenge! Wow! 2,000! This is the LARGEST Challenge I have EVER been in!
LEAVE A COMMENT, PLEASE! CLICK BACK ON THE "HOME" TAB up above, and scroll down until you see today's A to Z symbol and you can LEAVE YOUR COMMENT THERE!
See you tomorrow with the letter "V"! Wow! This Challenge is almost DONE! Wow!
Thanks again!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Monday, April 23nd, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "V"
Topic:    "Understand"



Victory! This is a word I am going to feel once this Challenge is OVER in a few days! We only have W, X, Y and Z left! Four days! Yeah!
Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed this thoroughly, but, I am not a writer, and it HAS take a LOT of self-discipline and remembering to write this post every single day! I can only imagine what a writer feels like, although, they enjoy their writing immensely! They are writing stories about things, other than writing about 'subjects' each day. I've tried writing, but it sure is a LOT of work! Wow! I didn't really like it. I much prefer reading, or writing short stories.
I can only imagine what it feels like to any author when they complete a manuscript! A major VICTORY! 
Now, for the author, this is only the beginning for them. Now they need to decide whether or not to use a publisher that will accept their work, or go the Independent route! Anymore, today, going the Independent route is SO much easier for authors. Anyone can self-publish these days, and there are no requirements for their writing to do so. I could argue whether or not this is good or bad!
We, as the Reader's, could get stuck with a not-so-hot book, or a GREAT book, all depending on the author! I think I've had my fair share of authors with both. Either way, ALL authors have a HUGE sense of victory when their work is finished! Congratulations, authors!
See you tomorrow with the letter "W"!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Wednesday, April 24th, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "W"
Topic:    "Wish, Wishing"

 I am only add
Have you or did you ever do something, write something, say something in which you wished you had never done it? I do. Have you ever wished a friend did not move away, or a family member or a friend had not passed away? Do you often find yourself wishing a certain date would get here faster than what it is taking to get here? I think we all are ALL guilty of this.
I just want to take a quick moment of your time today to tell you "I wish" you would not do that. Why, you ask? Because you are wishing time away. Time is precious, and you don't want to wish it away. When we do wish a certain event or person will be coming over, we can also set ourselves up for failure. I don't want to see that happen to you.
Or, how about wishing our children would grow out of a certain stage, and fast! I have, but then I may have missed certain other things that are HUGE milestones. Enjoy ALL these stages! Don't wish it away. Kids, especially when they are younger, grow SO fast and SO quickly, before we know it, that behavior is gone and our wish for that has long been gone, nor do we remember wishing it.
Did your own Mother always tell you, "Be careful what you wish for?" Mine did! Guess what? She was right! I think we tend to make things bigger than what  reality really is at 'the moment'. 
Today I got a phone call from my Dad telling me of a family friend of ours who has passed away from Leukemia. He was 63. I remember wishing when I was a teenager that this event, or that event, would get here! This man, and his family was always there. Today he is not. I wished part of our friendship away. Sad.
Most of my life I find myself wishing this or that would get here and get here FASTER! I have now learned NOT to do this just by looking at my own children!
So this is my message today. Don't wish anything SO big to get here SO badly! Or, anything so small. Enjoy ALL the time in between every thing that is to come!
Thanks for stopping by!
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT! You can do so HERE after this post! To read MORE on this article, please click on the HOME TAB up above, or on this LINK:   It takes you directly to this link where you can leave the link. OR, by clicking on the TAB up ABOVE called "HOME" and leaving your commentHERER by leaand either scroll down to 'this' post on the Letter "W", or click on this link:    I'd LOVE to hear what you wished so bad for and what you missed in the meantime.
Thanks for reading today! (And everyday, for you have done so!)
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Thursday, April 25th, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "X"
Topic:    "Xylography"

 What does "Xylography" mean? What is it? Well, here is the definition:

 Xylography: (zl-log-re-fe') n. 1. Wood engraving, esp of an early period.
2. The art of printing texts or illustrations, sometimes with color, from wood blocks, as distinct from typography.
This definition is from The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition, 1985. This is 'the' dictionary I use the most, and has never let me down!
So, there we have the definition of the word. It starts with the letter "X". Did I know this word before I started to write about it? No, which is why I had to scan all 3 pages of the letter "X" in the dictionary to be able to come up with a Topic starting with this letter! I have NO clue other than the word X-ray! LOL!
This word really does add to a Book Blog. As we look back in the history of the printing of books, imagine pulling out every single little letter to run paper though to make ONE page! Imagine how tedious work this is! Wow! Pretty tough, if you ask me! I'm glad it is 2012 now, or back when I was in school in the 70's and 80's! 
I don't know when the presses came out in which you no longer had to hand-pick the letters was, but I'm glad it's not that way today, as well as a lot of other people!
One time I was at a garage sale. I was really into finding antique items. I was looking for some unique items to hold my rubber stamp collection. I found this very thin, long and wide drawer. I was told that was a drawer that used to be a printer's drawer! Wow! How fitting could this be! I felt like I hit the jackpot!
I still use this drawer today! I stand it up on it's side, and I put my rubber stamps in it, photo side facing me so I can see what stamp it is. Every time I look at that drawer, I think of this very thing! It's such a neat part of our history! This very drawer held the has the history of Xylography is still being used in this way today with my rubber stamps!
Thanks for reading today's article!
Please LEAVE A COMMENT! I would LOVE to hear what you think about this!
Thanks!
Laurie 
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Friday, April 26th, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "Y"
Topic:    "Yesterday"

 How many of you were going to do something YESTERDAY? How many of you did NOT do it yesterday?
Today is THE day to STOP forgetting to do things TODAY so they don't become yesterday's!
Time to get reorganized and get on the ball and do it TODAY! 
It is hard to do this, I am WELL aware, and I have to re-think my schedule through over and over every time I start to notice I have done a "I was supposed to do this yesterday"!
If we can SUCCESSFULLY get ourselves to this point in which the thing we were supposed to do is NOT a yesterday item, we have conquered climbing Mount Everest! Don't you agree?!
Do it TODAY!

Thanks for reading!
See you tomorrow with letter Z! The LAST DAY!!!!
Laurie
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This is ALL possible with HUGE thanks to the following Sponsors: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/ AND to Arlee Bird at http://www.tossingitout.blogspot.com/ AND MORE Sponsors I have posted above!

Saturday, April 28th, 2012
Theme:  Books and Blogging
Subject: Letter "Z"
Topic:    "ZERO,  ZED, Zeea, Zee,  ZIP it up!  The LAST Post!  All done!  The END of this Challenge!"

This is IT! Z for Zero! OVER! Zed. Zeea. Zee. Zip it up! The LAST POST! ALL done! The END of this Challenge!
Guess what? I completed my Posts EVERY day! I did NOT miss ONE post! YEAH, FOR ME!!!! I was SO good posting EVERY single day! It came close a few times! I had yesterday's post posted at 11:58pm! Almost! But nope! I DID IT!
This Challenge has been a LOT of fun! I have enjoyed it immensely! I have LOVED writing something every day for the certain letter designated for the day, and ALWAYS could talk about something related to books! Books, they are a natural for me! What can I say? It is my second nature! 
I want to thank the Sponsors' of this Challenge and ALL the people who have visited my Blog AND LEFT COMMENTS on my blog! I found I had some friends participating in this Challenge with me, and that was GREAT! I also visited some Blogs as well, and thoroughly enjoyed this ENTIRE Challenge! To ALL the Blogs I could NOT get to, as there were almost 2,000 participating, THANK YOU! Next time! I cannot express my thanks ENOUGH to EVERYONE! THANK YOU!!!!!
I hope if there is another Challenge like this in the future, I get an email letting me know so I can participate again!
IF there are any questions, comments, or anything else you would like to see, PLEASE TELL ME! I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW!
Bye, for now!
Thank you ALL!
Laurie
IF you would like to read ALL my Blog Posts on the letters from A to Z, in order, then click on the TAB ABOVE called "Blogging from A to Z Challenge - April 2012" OR click on this LINK:     
I will keep this current page up until the end of June for now, as long as I don't need the page for something else. AT THE END OF JUNE and IF in the event I "do" need the page for something else, I will re-post the entire page under the TAB called GIVEAWAYS AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THAT  PAGE! The subject is BOOKS (and Blogging), the topics based upon the letters from A to Z.
For NOW, please click on the TAB ABOVE called "Blogging From A to Z Challenge - April 2012".
THANK YOU!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        







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