The Blonde Diaries

Shanna at Existing’s Tricky is hosting a Jane Austen spinoff in 2012.  I remember the first time I read a Jane Austen book.  It was a required book I think my freshman year of high school. I remember complaining left and right over it.  The print was too small, the language was old english, and I just didn’t understand the time period.  I’m glad I didn’t give up on Jane’s books as they have become favorites of mine.  I haven’t read a spinoff yet but I did pick up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies last year so this should be a good challenge to try out.

From Shanna:

I’ve gone reading challenge bananas!! I’ve wanted to do a Jane Austen related challenge, however nothing has been posted yet. So I decided to create my own! So many books have spun-off from Jane Austen’s stories. Some of them tell us Pride and Prejudice from a new perspecitive, some imagine what it would look like if certain changes had been made. Some are curious about the supporting characters such as Georgianna, Mr. Darcy’s sister, or they’ve taken Jane’s stories and placed a modern day twist on them. And then there is the paranormal branch. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters anyone?

So, here are the rules…

1. There are eight genres in this challenge. You need to complete one book from each genre.

2. The challenge runs from January 1, 2012 and ends December 31, 2012.

3. You don’t have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

4. Books can be in any format – paper, audio, ebooks…it all counts!

5. You don’t have to post a review, but I’m sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.You can also join our group on Goodreads.

NOTE: If you don’t have a blog and want to participate, that’s fine. You don’t have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books.

6. Comment below that you want to join the challenge. If you have a blog, please mention this contest and post a link to this page. ..

1. Variation Stories: An example of this would be “Darcy’s Voyage” by Kara Louise. Essentially this category is for writers who have taken the original story, and changed it.
2. Sequel: An example of this would be books by Rebecca Ann Collins, books that follow the Darcy’s or Knightly’s or whomever after the original story ends.
3. Jane Austen as a Fictional Character:
4. Paranormal: An example of this would be “Jane and the Damned” by Janet Mullany. These are stories in which Jane Austen characters, or Jane herself, become or interact with vampires, sea monsters, etc.
5. Modern Adaptation: An example of this would be “Persuading Annie” by Melissa Nathan. Jane Austen’s stories written in a modern time frame.
6. Mystery: A great series is the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries by Carrie Bebris.
7. Supporting Characters: These are books based on the supporting characters in the book such as Georgiana, Charlotte Lucas, etc. An example would be “Charlotte Collins” by Jennifer Becton
8. Books by Jane Austen: Many of you have become Austen fans through the movies, or maybe you are a die hard Pride and Prejudice fanatic. Read a novel by Jane: Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Persuasion or Sense and Sensibility. You could even read one of the incomplete works, such as Lady Susan, to complete this challenge.

Good luck and have fun!!

Laura at Laura’s Reviews is hosting a Victorian Book Challenge in 2012.  I love old books and historial books so this should be right up my alley.  It was nice to see some books from my TBR List included in various Victorian Book lists.  I’m going to aim for 2 Victorian books this year and see where I go.

For the Victorian Challenge, we will focus on the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. We will count books that were written by Victorian authors during this time period, books set during the Victorian age, or books about a Victorian author, history, manners, architecture, Queen Victoria etc. Also besides reading books, short stories, audiobooks and movies will also be accepted. The sky is the limit; I would love to make this a true celebration of all things Victorian.

Challenge Details

1. The Victorian Challenge 2012 will run from January 1st to December 31st, 2012. You can post a review before this date if you wish.

2. You can read a book, watch a movie, or listen to an audiobook, anything Victorian related that you would like. Reading, watching, or listening to a favorite Victorian related item again for the second, third, or more time is also allowed. You can also share items with other challenges.

3. The goal will be to read, watch, listen, to 2 to 6 (or beyond) anything Victorian items.

4. Please sign-up by posting your blog entry on the number of items and what items you would like to do for this challenge below in Mr. Linky (Don’t just post your blog’s URL). Don’t worry, you can do different things than you have listed. I myself am not always good at sticking to lists!

5. I will put up a post each month with Mr. Linky on it for posting your reviews. Look at the right sidebar for the latest link.

6. Enjoy!

Q1 2012: Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

I’m not sure which was my favorite last year – cozy mysteries or vampire fiction.  Vampires I had been reading since 2010 but cozies were completely new to me.  All I know is that I’m looking forward to reading more about both this year.  This challenge is being hosted by Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews.

Welcome to the second annual Cruisin’ thru the Cozies Reading Challenge! My interest in the cozies hasn’t diminished in the past year. If anything, it has increased. LOL So, this is one reading challenge I plan to continue hosting.

I love cozy mysteries and I want to read more of them this year. To find out exactly what a cozy mystery is, check out Cozy-Mystery.com. This site is dedicated to cozy mysteries and does a great job of defining them as well as giving a list of cozy mysteries. This challenge is NOT restricted to what is on their list, it’s just to be used as a guideline in case you need some hints on what to read.

So, here are the rules…

1. Choose the level you wish to participate:

Level 1 – Snoop – Read at least 6 books
Level 2 – Investigator – Read 7-12 books
Level 3 – Super Sleuth – Read 13 or more books

2. The challenge runs from January 1, 2012 and ends December 31, 2012.

3. You don’t have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

4. Books can be in any format – paper, audio, ebooks…it all counts!

5. You don’t have to post a review, but I’m sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

NOTE: If you don’t have a blog and want to participate, that’s fine. You don’t have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books.

After noticing that I own Cecily von Ziegesar’s entire Gossip Girl series, I realized I should get around to reading them. Especially if I ever want to watch the series (that is currently available on Netflix Instant!). Want to join me?

1. Gossip Girl
2. You Know You Love Me
3. All I Want Is Everything
4. Because I’m Worth It
5. I Like It Like That
6. You’re the One That I Want
7. Nobody Does It Better
8. Nothing Can Keep Us Together
9. Only In Your Dreams
10. Would I Lie to You?
11. Don’t You Forget About Me
12. It Had To Be You
13. I Will Always Love You (prequel)

Rules:

• Challenge will run January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Participants can join at any time throughout the challenge.
• Create an intro post, linking back to this post.
• Sign up using the Linky below. Make sure to add your post about this challenge, not your blog home page.
• All forms of books acceptable (audiobooks, eBooks, etc.), rereads are allowed and these books and be used for other challenges.
• You don’t need a blog to participate. Just ignore the Linky and sign up in the comments. Leave any thoughts about the books on the challenge’s review linky post.
• Reviews, while always appreciated, are not mandatory.

Rules:

• Anyone can join
• You don’t need a blog to participate.  For non-bloggers, please leave a comment with a link (if you review somewhere else) to the review or leave a list of the books you read on the monthly link up post.
• Audio, ebooks, and bound books are ok.
• No re-reads
• Create a sign up post and post the link in the linky below.
• Challenge goes from January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012
• Challenge Crossovers are ok.