Mini Challenges for 2009 ~ Let's talk

i like easy challenges. I dont like ones that require tons of work. Give me simple and FAST, as in I can participate in teh challenge in 5 minutes or less. I've got little enough free time as it is and what free time I do have I don't want to spend doing tons of work for an optional challenge. I just don't participate i it's too much work.

Easy is good.  I like something like knowing the ISBN number.  I didn't do that this year, because I was too busy.  I'd like to see it next year, though. 

I don't remember seeing any of the mini-challenges this year.  Maybe I was just a little too busy writing....

Looking forward to next year's challenge, though!

Hope, I agree ... I like easy too 

Christa, yes! .... I love the mini-challenges to push me to line up the books to read that way there's no tough decisions to make on what to read next

so what kind of challenges do you like that help you line up your books?

a need to focus on something specific like:

•  a one word title
• authors first and last name start with same letter(I think we did this last year or year before)
• colour in title
• author with three name(think we did last year or year before)
• number in title

Those would probably still narrow choices to about 50-100

I like easy and simple challenges too..

How abut if we did a mini challenge like where you had to pick out a really good series and read one of the books from it to read.

how about if we did something like wheel of fortune give us some letters and we have to fill in the blanks whether it be a title or author.

Could we not pick a theme for he month like if its christmas time. we all ave t o read a book dealing with that holiday etc.

patsy

Hi,

I've never done any of the challenges although I have read the "rules" for a few. I'm not sure this is the right idea...but...

What about reading a book someone else recommended? Tell who recommended it and what made you take a chance on the book.

I know I read a few new to me authors from the blog post I have up where people listed their "2008 Reading Lists." It was a neat way to try something new.

Ellen

What does TBR stand for ?

Just found today that our library wants us to do 100 book challenge next year..lol... So my books will get listed twice.

I like your ideas katherine.

dont guessmine were that good huh..

patsy

i'll have to check those sites out.. yhank you

patsy

wheel of fortune would work is that you pick how many numbers (books) there will be in the wheel

then pick books from the upcoming books for 2009 and regularly intersperse the series around the wheel

(if you actually had a wheel of fortune this might actually make it easier), then you could spin the wheel for the participants and tell them the number they've fallen on (and what book they should read) and if there were free book slots then occasionally they'd have a chance to win a free book - not clear yet on whether it could be a book of their choice or if it would be more an imposed choice like the FBF

the logistics kind of escape me, but would this be something along the lines Patsy thought of and would it be doable?

only you know the answer to that one

Hugs

Sadhbh 

First off, I want to thank you for asking our opinion on this

I think an ongoing TBR challenge would be wonderful.  Also, I know many of us collect all the books in a line, and some of those tend to get piled up as other books come along and/or life intervenes.  For example, I have a gigantic pile of Nocturne's, as I am collecting them.  I would love to get those read, and a TBR specific challenge I could devote to those.

As far as monthly challenges go, I have a hard time keeping up with them, as my moods change from day to day.  So I will leave those ideas up to others to discuss.

Take Care,

Tammy

...would require the talents of our excellent site programmers to create & implement.  A little challenge for them that should result in large bonuses... 

I like that "reading a recommended book" idea! 

I'd also like to see a return of the number or smilie system for things like sensuality levels, violence, bad language, etc.  Sometimes I feel as though I'm coming into a book "blind," because of a lack of ratings.  It could vary from book to book (obviously, there isn't going to be a lot of violence in a standard sweet romance, but in some of the suspense ones, it can get intense).  I'd like a way to rate the romantic feelings, too (separate from sensuality levels, because some of the inspy's have intense romantic feelings without ever becoming steamy). 

I'm liking a lot of these ideas.  I'm sure you'll come up with a good consensus and give us some mini challenges that will interest everyone (at least part of the time)!  (Unless we're too busy writing to play, that is.)

I will agree with Ellen on ratings for sensuality or violence .... every reader has their own comfort level

I do think that if a book contains subjects that may be alarming for other readers, that a general comment in your review as a forewarning would be a good thought .... or using tags to flag books that are overtly violent or contain subjects such as rape .... in my own reviews, I often use the tags in this way

the Quiet Canadians use a rating system for sensuality that many other Challengers are using as well ... we discussed the rating definitions at the end of the 2006 Challenge and they were adopted for the beginning of the 2007 ... ratings

i justhoguth of something else with the wheel of fortune theme..

why couldnt you do with with all the main lines of books that people here read..    have someone once a month draw a  name harlequin super romance. You would have to read  one book from this line and  post a review about it.

plus you could add say if a ne wseries was coming out etc. I saw where there doing another Fortune Series Reuion in January with marie ferrarella as one of the author's.. Cant wait to read it either..

patsy

All of these ideas are great!  I love the thought of narrowing down the TBR pile as I sometime have a hard time choosing the next book.  A little focus would be good for the mind.  I like the ongoing challenges as well as the mini challenges because you can split your focus and add more fun into the mix!  I can't wait to sign up for the 2009 Challenge!

I cant wait to read the Fortune Books either.

Me will have to start a TBR pile..lol..

Most of the time I get my books from the local Library to read etc,,

patsy

Last year when my friend Diana was nominated for a Rita, she read all the other books in her category. We could read from the list of Harlequin Rita nominees. We might also make a list of past Golden Heart winners now published by Harlequin and read their stuff? (Trying to keep it simple--broaden the options.)

Might be fun to have a poll/predictor game set up for Rita night when the mini-challenge would end. I was lucky enough to be my friend's "date" to the ceremony last year so I got to sit up front. We played a game where we tried to guess the winner for each category based on our gut reactions to title and cover. Made the night that much more exciting!

Ellen

Katherine - just remember when setting a mini challenge using eBooks some of us do not or cannot read  them so don't go overboard with them.

Ellen, I hear you .... it was just a thought for making it easier to read books nominated for an award but already out of print .... that's one of the reasons why a RITA type Challenge is difficult to issue... not everyone would be able to find the book  ..... but I could tie it in with the TBR challenges

Patsy ... ah, a bookaholic at heart  ... I knew there was something special about you   

I like that "reading a recommended book" idea!  I second that.

I also love doing the new to me challenge. I have discovered several new authors and series that way.

I defintely need a TBR challenge. I was looking through my books this weekend. I collected more books this year than I did last year. Gotta do something about all these books.

Funny how that happens, Christa...I can't explain it myself

will definitely be a big part of the 2009 mini-challenges  .... I'm hoping to line up the challenges earlier, so that you have a heads up and can order books or get them from the Library  

I really like the idea of reading recommended books, too

to be something we all can join in on ... that's one of the reasons why I'd like to get the new month's challenge at least set up here in the Book Challenge forum before the new month starts .... each month's challenge will have a similar theme ....

I love your thoughts on the TBR challenge .... I think that's a grand idea to have Challengers pick out a certain number of books NOW from their TBR, have them blog them, and then as they read them cross them off their list .... very doable!  ....   though with this, I need some input .... how many books from a Challengers TBR should be on this list?   or should that be strictly up to each Challenger?

in the ongoing TBR Challenge, we've been given a few ideas here on combining some fun themes .... so I thought I'd encourage Challengers to sign up for the various combo TBR mini-challenges and then I'd post their names below each TBR challenge they wish to sign up for  ..... some will be fun, like the alphabet one .... and then at the end of each month, the Challengers can come back to the TBR mini challenge forum and give a progress report

there will be some fun Challenges on top of the monthly and the TBR ..... such as a RITA one ... the RITA one is difficult only in that many of the books are out of print by the time the nominee's list is posted in April ....  I would definitely start the Challenge from the time the list is announced and it would end at the Gala with the awards ..... I really want to do this one ... have to put my thinking cap on to see how this can be done so as many Challengers can participate if they want to

I'm open to any and all ideas .... so please keep them coming .... Patsy mentioned a Wheel of Fortune idea and I have some serious thoughts on that one for maybe a Summer Beach Read Challenge ....

I'd like 2009 to be a fun year for us .... after all Harlequin has a lot of celebrating to do, it turns 60!

yes, I get it .... and this could be a very fun mini challenge  .... I think I might use this for a Challenge that will run a little longer ..... you are so smart!  thanks 

I remember seeing a blog, I think it was Vince's and he asked, "How many of the Rita books have you read?" I thought that was very interesting and the comments were very insightful on the authors and the books themselves.