Bloggiesta – Update #7

Lucky #7 will be my last post for the festivities. My official wrap-up post will be done tomorrow. I’m just too exhausted to complete everything and feel like had I had more time I would have accomplished more in regards to my movie reviews, but since I have that organized I will probably continue to do quick groupings and get a chunk knocked off.

That being said, I did get some more accomplished in my last hour.

• officially signed up for the Sookie Stackhouse Challenge, with some of my own rules
• created a new event at my other blog – Baking 101
• cleaned up my starred items in google reader – pretty much all that’s left are articles involving True Blood and I’m too tired to read them all
• rejoined the Weekly Geek group - here
• participated in Beth Fish Reads mini-challenge for creating a post for later publishing – that will probably be up tomorrow involving another new challenge

I think that’s all for the night. I’ll do a full roundup in the morning. Had lots of fun.

Sookie Stackhouse Challenge

Hosted By: Beth Fish Reads
July 1, 09 – June 30, 10

I’ve been debating since I first heard about this challenge, if it would even be worth it to start since I have been on a Sookie kick for quite some time, but after lots of thinking, I decided to join and read the remaining two books, plus all the short Sookie stories and other Southern Vampire shorts that Charlaine Harris has written.

Here’s the full list, only what I read after July 1 will count but I wanted to keep a running list regardless:

1. Dead Until Dark – read in March 09
   
2. Living Dead in Dallas – read in May 09
   
3. Club Dead – read in June 09
   
4. Dead to the World – read in June 09
   
5. Dead as a Doornail - read in June 09
   
6. Definitely Dead – read in June 09
   
7. All Together Dead – read in June 09
8. From Dead to Worse – January 14, 2010
9. Dead and Gone – January 16, 2010
10. Dead in the Family – May 9, 2010
11. Fairy Dust – January 16, 2010
12. Dancers in the Dark – read March 11, 2010
13. One Word Answer – reread January 16, 2010
    
14. Tacky – read February 26, 2010
15. Dracula Night – reread January 16, 2010
    
16. Gift Wrap – reread January 16, 2010
    
17. Lucky – January 16, 2010
18. Bacon – January 16, 2010

A Touch of Dead (which I believe is all Sookie/SV shorts) comes out before the end of the year, in which case it may bring all those extras into one simple book, plus bring me current with everything. And who knows, maybe I’ll just start all over once I finish and read them all again.

Weekly Geeks – 2009-23 – Reading Challenges

This week’s Weekly Geeks topic was suggested by Sheri of A Novel Menagerie. She writes:

“Reading Challenges: a help or a hurt? Do you find that the reading challenges keep you organized and goal-oriented? Or, do you find that as you near the end of a challenge that you’ve failed because you fell short of your original goals? As a result of some reading challenges, I’ve picked up books that I would have otherwise never heard of or picked up; that, frankly, I have loved. Have you experienced the same with challenges? If so, which ones? Do you have favorite reading challenges?”

I figure it’s about time I got back into this weekly event and what a perfect way. I LOVE READING CHALLENGES. They help and they hurt, only because I find I have to keep up with my reading and set my schedule much more than ever before. I have to be very organized if I’m going to to accomplish the reading I set out to do. I am now more goal-oriented in my reading and while I still have plenty of books that are unscheduled and on a whim, I still find I stick close to the original. Since I still consider myself a newby to challenges, I wasn’t as let down when I didn’t finish a couple challenges last year, but it helped me realize more how to change my goals in the future.

I have a lot of favorite challenges. This year it’s been the Countdown Challenge, the 999 Challenge (or 999×2) and the Vampire/Love Bites Challenges. The last two specifically helped introduce me to Sookie Stackhouse and is now my new favorite over Stephanie Plum, if you can imagine. I only join challenges I enjoy because that motivates my reading more. While some other challenges look interesting, I can tell I won’t enjoy them as much or the reading so I avoid them. Maybe next year I will step out of the box.

Bloggiesta – Update #6

In a short amount of time I got a lot of little things done. I have found that this has given me a chance to make my blog a little more active and eventually eventful.

In the past hour I:

• updated my LibraryThing reviews
• Added a currently reading and up next box to my sidebar
• Added a weekly events box to the sidebar to be updated soon
• Wrote a new post to publish another day involving a new perpetual challenge I created for myself
• updated a key page (my TBR list) to look more alphabetized and organized

I’m heading back home so by the end of the challenge I hope to:

• decide whether or not I want to join the Sookie Stackhouse challenge
• create a baking post that will reoccur on my personal blog
• review Lipstick Jungle: Season 2 and Dexter: Season 2
• review at least 10 new releases and at least some of my January 09 viewings
• go through starred items on google reader

Bloggiesta – Update #5

After taking another long hiatus, I’m hoping to get a bunch of bloggiesta time in. I just finished with updating book reviews.

• All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
• Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

I also updated all my challenges that these pertain to.

I think next up, I’m going to add a couple little features to my blog or additions to the sidebar. I haven’t participated in Weekly Geeks in awhile but this week is about challenges so I thought I would jump back on the bandwagon. I also have a long starred in my google reader (31) so I’m going to try and go through some of that.

Then it’s back to some movie reviews. Yippee!