One More Challenge - 2015 Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge!

I saw this over at Socrates' Book Blog and decided to join in. I have an embarrassing pile of ARCs from NetGalley and Edelweiss and this may be the kick in the pants I need to whittle it down. It also seems lke a good complement to the COYER challenge. Maybe I'll finally get my NetGalley ratio to 80%! I've come close several times but I can't quite achieve it. It would help if I stopped requesting titles and accepting invites. :D By my count, I currently have 39 unread ARCS from NG & E (some I'll be reading in the next few weeks). Eeeep!

The challenge is being hosted by Falling for YA and you can find all the details at her sign up post. The challenge will run from Jan 1, 2015 – Dec 31, 2015. I'm going for the second level of silver - 25 Books. I would like to go for the third level, gold, which is 50 books, but I'll wait and see how I do. For now, I'm aiming for the silver. I'll track my titles each month in my monthly challenge wrap up post. 

November Challenge Wrap Up

Wrap Up

I went a bit nuts this year with challenges; I hope I can accomplish them all. The only one I'm not tracking is my goodreads reading challenge; all the rest I'll include in my monthly wrap up post.

November I had 4 challenges in addition to my year-long ones: the 30 Day Blog Ahead challenge, the Month of Giving Thanks, and NetGalley November. There was also the Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon which was 6 days long. I did well with that one. :)

Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready!

Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon - Goal - 7

On the Naughty List by Lori Foster, et al
Christmas with a SEAL by Tawny Weber
Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan 
The Heart of Christmas by Brenda Novak 
Christmas Gift That Keeps Wagging - review to come
Her Holiday Man by Shannon Stacey- review to come
I'm Dreaming of an Undead Christmas by Molly Harper- review to come

2015 Reading Challenges & My COYER Sign Up

I am going to cut back on challenges next year. Honest, I am. Hey, stop laughing!

Okay, I'm cutting back on the year long challenges. I'll still be doing monthly and seasonal challenges such as Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon and COYER in all its incarnations. In fact, there's a new COYER starting in a few weeks and I'm jumping in. It's running Saturday, December 20th 2014 to Friday, March 6th 2015. Signups are open through Sunday, January 25th.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day Thirty

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week.

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

Quote-Tastic & Review - Maybe This Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Publisher: Harlequin
Series: O'Neill Brothers #3
Format Read: egalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

This winter, ex-skiing champion, reformed heartbreaker and single dad Tyler O'Neil has only one mission—making sure his daughter, Jess, has the best Christmas ever. The fact that his best friend, Brenna, is also temporarily moving into his chalet at the overbooked Snow Crystal resort is a delicious distraction he's simply going to have to ignore. Theirs is the one relationship he's never ruined, and he's not about to start now.

Ski pro Brenna Daniels knows all about the perils of unrequited love—she's been in love with Tyler for years. But living with him is absolute torture…how can she concentrate on being his friend when he's sleeping in the room next door? Then when Tyler kisses Brenna, suddenly the relationship she's always dreamed of feels so close she could almost touch it. Could this be the Christmas her dreams of a happy-ever-after finally come true?

Bea Reviews Christmas with a SEAL by Tawny Weber

Publisher: Harlequin 
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 21, 2014 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Subject: Navy SEAL Lieutenant Phillip Banks

Mission: Resist one saucy redhead's attempts to de-Scrooge him …and seduce him!

Silversmith Frankie Silvera has lost her creative mojo. And she knows how to get it back—by getting her sexy on with a certain hot sailor. Just the thought of Phillip's hard, Navy-trained body against her, and everything goes molten. He's the "inspiration" Frankie needs for the holidays!

Navy SEAL Phillip Banks is the prince of protocol. But after his last mission went horribly off-course, all of that control has dissipated. Now he's at the mercy of one very determined female who is pulling out all the stops on Operation Christmas—including red-hot lingerie and the promise of oh-so-wicked delights… But does giving in mean giving up everything he's worked for?

Bea Reviews The Heart of Christmas by Brenda Novak

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Series: Whiskey Creek #7
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 28, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Just call her Christmas Eve… 
Eve Harmon has always enjoyed Christmas, but this year it reminds her of everything she doesn't have. Almost all her friends are married now, and that's what Eve wants, too. Love. A husband and kids of her own. But the B and B she manages, and even Whiskey Creek, the small Gold Country town where she was born and raised, suddenly seem…confining. 

Eve's worried that her future will simply be a reflection of her past. There's no one in the area she could even imagine as a husband until a handsome stranger comes to town. Eve's definitely attracted to him, and he seems to have the same reaction to her. But his darkly mysterious past could ruin Eve's happily ever after just when it finally seems within reach. And just when she's counting on the best Christmas of her life!

Ho Ho Ho Read-A-Thon Word Scramble Challenge

Welcome! Come in, come in. Make yourself at home. Have a drink, get cozy on the couch, push the cat out of your way.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day Six

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week.

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day Five

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week.

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day 4

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week.

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day 3

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week.

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day Two

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week.

“A Month of Giving Thanks with Berls & Michelle” will be a month-long challenge to post every day from November 1st to November 30th about something we’re thankful for. This is about sharing the love and being thankful, so there really aren’t going to be any rules or anything. We just thought it would be nice to invite everyone to join, so that we can all share the love! - See more at: http://www.becausereading.com/givingthanks/#sthash.TKptdpkq.dpufv

“A Month of Giving Thanks with Berls & Michelle” will be a month-long challenge to post every day from November 1st to November 30th about something we’re thankful for. This is about sharing the love and being thankful, so there really aren’t going to be any rules or anything. We just thought it would be nice to invite everyone to join, so that we can all share the love! - See more at: http://www.becausereading.com/givingthanks/#sthash.TKptdpkq.dpuf

“A Month of Giving Thanks with Berls & Michelle” will be a month-long challenge to post every day from November 1st to November 30th about something we’re thankful for. This is about sharing the love and being thankful, so there really aren’t going to be any rules or anything. We just thought it would be nice to invite everyone to join, so that we can all share the love! - See more at: http://www.becausereading.com/givingthanks/#sthash.TKptdpkq.dpuf

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

A Month of Giving Thanks: Day One

Berl at Fantasy Is More Fun and Michelle at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life are hosting a month long blog event for giving thanks. The idea is to blog about people, things, or events that we are thankful for. I probably won't post every day; I'm aiming instead for a few times a week. 

“A Month of Giving Thanks with Berls & Michelle” will be a month-long challenge to post every day from November 1st to November 30th about something we’re thankful for. This is about sharing the love and being thankful, so there really aren’t going to be any rules or anything. We just thought it would be nice to invite everyone to join, so that we can all share the love! - See more at: http://www.becausereading.com/givingthanks/#sthash.TKptdpkq.dpufv

“A Month of Giving Thanks with Berls & Michelle” will be a month-long challenge to post every day from November 1st to November 30th about something we’re thankful for. This is about sharing the love and being thankful, so there really aren’t going to be any rules or anything. We just thought it would be nice to invite everyone to join, so that we can all share the love! - See more at: http://www.becausereading.com/givingthanks/#sthash.TKptdpkq.dpuf

“A Month of Giving Thanks with Berls & Michelle” will be a month-long challenge to post every day from November 1st to November 30th about something we’re thankful for. This is about sharing the love and being thankful, so there really aren’t going to be any rules or anything. We just thought it would be nice to invite everyone to join, so that we can all share the love! - See more at: http://www.becausereading.com/givingthanks/#sthash.TKptdpkq.dpuf

If you want to participate, you still can; just click on one of the links above. You can post every day, once a week, several times a week, whatever schedule works for you. There will be a linky post every day at the to host blogs so you can link up your post.

October Challenge Wrap Up

Wrap Up

I went a bit nuts this year with challenges; I hope I can accomplish them all. The only one I'm not tracking is my goodreads reading challenge; all the rest I'll include in my monthly wrap up post.
Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready!

For this month, November, there are 3 challenges that I'm taking part in: the 30 Day Blog Ahead challenge, the Month of Giving Thanks, and NetGalley November. For NetGalley November, I'm aiming for the medium level of 5-10 books. I have more than 10 but I won't get to them all.

Reading BINGO Challenge

Aaaanad, again, nothing. I am so failing with this one.

TOTAL: 16

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge - Goal: 1-5

Nothing last month

Blog Ahead Challenge!

Why yes, that is another challenge picture; why yes, I'm doing another challenge; why yes, I'm nuts. You should know that by now.  :P

This one is practical - get ahead on blogging  by writing and scheduling posts ahead of time. I'm much better at that these these days. A year ago, I rarely scheduled posts ahead, waiting until the last minute. When I first started blogging, it took me months to figure out how to schedule a post. While I still procrastinate on many posts, I do it less often as life is just too busy these days. So this challenge is perfect while not too easy - getting 30 posts done will keep me busy but the end result will be well worth it. At the moment I have 8 posts scheduled and about 5 in drafts (not including some that are permanently in drafts such as templates). :D

September Challenge Wrap Up

Wrap Up

I went a bit nuts this year with challenges; I hope I can accomplish them all. I'm doing pretty well so I have a good chance. The only one I'm not tracking is my goodreads reading challenge; all the rest I'll include in my monthly wrap up post. Although I haven't been tracking my goodreads challenge on here, I made my goal during September. My goal was 200 and currently I'm up to 203. :)

Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready! 

Reading BINGO Challenge

I've stalled on this one. I need to kick my butt and get back in gear.

TOTAL: 16

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge - Goal: 1-5

1. Cursed by Angela Addams
2. Shifting Shadows by Patricia Briggs

August Challenge Wrap Up

Wrap Up

I went a bit nuts this year with challenges; I hope I can accomplish them all. The only one I'm not tracking is my goodreads reading challenge; all the rest I'll include in my monthly wrap up post.

During the summer I also participated in the COYER Summer Vacation challenge, it ended September 5th. 

Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready! 

Reading BINGO Challenge

I haven't hit Bingo yet but I'm filling up the squares so maybe next month I'll get the first one.

I forgot to track this one last month.  :(

TOTAL: 16

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge - Goal: 1-5

none last month

June and July Challenge Wrap Up

Wrap Up

I went a bit nuts this year with challenges; I hope I can accomplish them all. The only one I'm not tracking is my goodreads reading challenge; all the rest I'll include in my monthly wrap up post. This month I did a personal challenge (I'm not tracking) to read mostly books that I won or was gifted but I did sneak in a few review books and other books.

During the summer I'm also participating in the COYER Summer Vacation challenge, it runs into September. 

Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready! 

Reading BINGO Challenge

I've slowed down with this one and I'm not sure I'll finish but I haven't given up.

A Forgotten Classic - Bob, Son of Battle, by Sir Alfred Ollivant, translated by Lydia Davis.
A Book That Is More Than 10 Years Old - Much More Than the ABCs: The Early Stages of Reading and Writing by Judith A. Schickedanz

TOTAL: 16

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge - Goal: 1-5

1. Be Careful What You Witch For by Dawn Eastman
2.  Home Improvement: Undead Edition

May Challenge Wrap Up

I went a bit nuts this year with challenges; I hope I can accomplish them all. The only one I'm not tracking is my goodreads reading challenge; all the rest I'll include in my monthly wrap up post. This month I did a personal challenge (I'm not tracking) to read mostly books that I won or was gifted but I did sneak in a few review books and other books.

Last month I participated in the month long Clean Sweep ARC Challenge co-hosted by The Caffeinated Reviewer and Angela's Anxious Life. Despite one DNF, I actually exceeded the goal I set for myself. :)

Grab a drink, get comfy, and get ready! 

Reading BINGO Challenge

I haven't hit Bingo yet but I'm filling up the squares so maybe next month?

A Book of Non-Fiction - two last month

Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox &

A Child's Introduction to Art: The World's Greatest Paintings and Sculptures by Heather Alexander

TOTAL: 14

Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge - Goal: 1-5

None!