Maintenance Monday
Milestone #1: 500 Reviews and Counting!
Back in August, I believe, I made some vague mentions of two really big milestones for this blog, and the first has finally arrived!
As of Friday, October 15th, calico_reaction has posted 503 reviews!!! Novels, short stories, graphic novels… we've done quite a lot here, and it shows!
Of course, I don't know how this compares to other book bloggers, but I think it's something to celebrate! See Kermit's jig up there? He's excited!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. WINNERS ANNOUNCED SOON!
And so am I. Milestones mean celebrations, and celebrations mean GIVEAWAYS, so listen up!
I am offering five people their choice of almost any book I've reviewed on this site.
That means five winners, five books.
Of course, I did say almost, so that means there's a few rules/exceptions. :)
1) All books must be shippable from Book Depository (which means you must live somewhere they ship to as well. Click here to find out). However, depending on the location of the winners and said winners' selections, the books may be coming from Amazon.com. Just sayin'.
2) I reserve the right to select the cheapest copy. In other words, if the book is currently available in both hardcover and paperback, you're getting the paperback. :)
3) If you'd prefer an electronic copy of said book, that's viable. We'll figure out how it all works if you win.
4) Books chosen must not be over original market price. If the book was released at $7.99, I'm not paying $20.99 for the same format. Coinciding with that exception, nothing over $30.00. So, in a nutshell, I'm not paying more than the book is worth, and the book can't be worth more than $30. :)
5) I reserve the right to refuse a selection, on the basis something might come up that I haven't covered here. :) (No individual comic book issues, no magazines, no short stories, and nothing that's out of print).
Now that I've scared you out of entering, here's how you can enter!
1) Search through my reviews. Just click here for various search options. You can search by author's name, or look at just novels, just anthologies, just graphic novels… you get the idea.
2) Make your top two selections
3) Email me at calico.reaction[AT]gmail.com (fix the email addy accordingly, of course) with:
4) The subject of the email stating 500 REVIEWS GIVEAWAY and:
5) Your FIRST and SECOND choice of books (you can give me more titles than that, but please, put them in order of preference!) and:
6) Your real name and full mailing address formatted properly (make sure Book Depository ships to you!) and:
7) If you have an LJ, your LJ name; also, where you heard about this giveaway and FINALLY:
8) Do this ALL by Tuesday, October 26th. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, October 27th (which happens to be my birthday, the big 3-0!).
Clear as mud? If you have any questions, please let me know, and I'll be happy to help out!
Otherwise, I owe you all a big THANK YOU! If not for your interest and enthusiasm, I wouldn't have 500 + reviews, that's for sure. And who knows how far we'll go? Maybe one day, we'll reach the 1000 review mark! Won't that be crazy?Book Club Selections
October: Feed by Mira Grant
November: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
December: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Book Sale: In order to buy new books, I have to sell old ones. Help me out? :) Details are here.
Follow me on Facebook, and find me on Paperback Swap!
FAVOR!! When I review a book you've read and reviewed yourself, would you kindly provide a link to your review in the comments of mine? I love seeing what others think, and sometimes I see those reviews when they're originally posted, but don't read them as I don't want to spoil myself on something I know I'll read in the future. The problem, then, is I often forget to go back and read the reviews I missed! So please, if you've reviewed something I'm reviewing, shoot a link my way. :)
Giveaways & Challenges
@ Dreams & Speculation, sign up for a chance to win an audiobook of Zombies Vs. Unicorns. Click here for details. Deadline 10/29.
@ A Bookseller Recommends, sign up to win one of four different ARCs: Chris Cleave's Little Bee, Tony DiTerlizzi's The Search for Wondla, Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement, and lastly, Thomas French's Zoo Story. It's quite the variety, and if you're interested, click here. Deadline: 10/31
Sign up for Dreams & Speculation's 2011 Book Club: The Women of SF! I've already signed up and will be participating every month. The Women of SF is a great theme with a LOT of variety, so if you're interested in the slightest, go check out the details here.
But if you're worried about reading TOO much SF in 2011, why not balance it out with Jawas Read, Too!'s The Women of Fantasy book club? Another great theme with lots of variety, and Jawa has posted the details here. I know I look forward to participating, and I hope you do too!
Got a giveaway or reading challenge you'd like to promote? Please comment.
Upcoming Reviews: Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey, A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files
Currently Reading: Blackout by Connie Willis
2010 Reading Total: 88 out of 100 (even if I hit 100, I doubt I'll up the goal to 125, because that's starting to get crazy).
2010 Comics Total: 333 out of 365. #334 will be tonight! Poll Time!
The following poll is for book clubbers only, and it's to go ahead and get a feel for something that MIGHT happen next year.
You all know that I'm getting pickier and pickier about finishing books that don't nab my interest, right? Well, one concern I have for the 2011 book club is that the book we end up selecting might be a book that I wouldn't finish otherwise. Part of me feels like, if it's for the book club, if it's something I put in a poll and you all selected, then I need to finish the thing come hell or high water, right? But the other part of me doesn't think so, that I should treat the book like everything else I'm reading and, if it doesn't hold my interest by page 100, I should put it aside, book club or not.
Now, this hasn't happened yet with a book club selection, so don't start thinking that I don't want to finish our current month's selection, Feed (because I've already finished it!). However, I am trying to think ahead and I want to know how you would feel if you were reading a challenge book and were ready for a discussion at the end of the month, only to learn I threw in the towel after page 100.
Again, this poll is for book club participants only. Even if you've only participated once, ask yourself how you would've felt had I not finished reading the challenge book that YOU did and were wanting to discuss. Mind you, I'd post a review explaining why I didn't finish it, but that's not the same as discussion. :)
Poll Challenge Books in the DNF Pile
Thanks for your help, and as always, if you have any questions, please comment below!
Back in August, I believe, I made some vague mentions of two really big milestones for this blog, and the first has finally arrived!
As of Friday, October 15th, calico_reaction has posted 503 reviews!!! Novels, short stories, graphic novels… we've done quite a lot here, and it shows!
Of course, I don't know how this compares to other book bloggers, but I think it's something to celebrate! See Kermit's jig up there? He's excited!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. WINNERS ANNOUNCED SOON!
And so am I. Milestones mean celebrations, and celebrations mean GIVEAWAYS, so listen up!
I am offering five people their choice of almost any book I've reviewed on this site.
That means five winners, five books.
Of course, I did say almost, so that means there's a few rules/exceptions. :)
1) All books must be shippable from Book Depository (which means you must live somewhere they ship to as well. Click here to find out). However, depending on the location of the winners and said winners' selections, the books may be coming from Amazon.com. Just sayin'.
2) I reserve the right to select the cheapest copy. In other words, if the book is currently available in both hardcover and paperback, you're getting the paperback. :)
3) If you'd prefer an electronic copy of said book, that's viable. We'll figure out how it all works if you win.
4) Books chosen must not be over original market price. If the book was released at $7.99, I'm not paying $20.99 for the same format. Coinciding with that exception, nothing over $30.00. So, in a nutshell, I'm not paying more than the book is worth, and the book can't be worth more than $30. :)
5) I reserve the right to refuse a selection, on the basis something might come up that I haven't covered here. :) (No individual comic book issues, no magazines, no short stories, and nothing that's out of print).
Now that I've scared you out of entering, here's how you can enter!
1) Search through my reviews. Just click here for various search options. You can search by author's name, or look at just novels, just anthologies, just graphic novels… you get the idea.
2) Make your top two selections
3) Email me at calico.reaction[AT]gmail.com (fix the email addy accordingly, of course) with:
4) The subject of the email stating 500 REVIEWS GIVEAWAY and:
5) Your FIRST and SECOND choice of books (you can give me more titles than that, but please, put them in order of preference!) and:
6) Your real name and full mailing address formatted properly (make sure Book Depository ships to you!) and:
7) If you have an LJ, your LJ name; also, where you heard about this giveaway and FINALLY:
8) Do this ALL by Tuesday, October 26th. I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, October 27th (which happens to be my birthday, the big 3-0!).
Clear as mud? If you have any questions, please let me know, and I'll be happy to help out!
Otherwise, I owe you all a big THANK YOU! If not for your interest and enthusiasm, I wouldn't have 500 + reviews, that's for sure. And who knows how far we'll go? Maybe one day, we'll reach the 1000 review mark! Won't that be crazy?Book Club Selections
October: Feed by Mira Grant
November: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
December: Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Book Sale: In order to buy new books, I have to sell old ones. Help me out? :) Details are here.
Follow me on Facebook, and find me on Paperback Swap!
FAVOR!! When I review a book you've read and reviewed yourself, would you kindly provide a link to your review in the comments of mine? I love seeing what others think, and sometimes I see those reviews when they're originally posted, but don't read them as I don't want to spoil myself on something I know I'll read in the future. The problem, then, is I often forget to go back and read the reviews I missed! So please, if you've reviewed something I'm reviewing, shoot a link my way. :)
Giveaways & Challenges
@ Dreams & Speculation, sign up for a chance to win an audiobook of Zombies Vs. Unicorns. Click here for details. Deadline 10/29.
@ A Bookseller Recommends, sign up to win one of four different ARCs: Chris Cleave's Little Bee, Tony DiTerlizzi's The Search for Wondla, Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement, and lastly, Thomas French's Zoo Story. It's quite the variety, and if you're interested, click here. Deadline: 10/31
Sign up for Dreams & Speculation's 2011 Book Club: The Women of SF! I've already signed up and will be participating every month. The Women of SF is a great theme with a LOT of variety, so if you're interested in the slightest, go check out the details here.
But if you're worried about reading TOO much SF in 2011, why not balance it out with Jawas Read, Too!'s The Women of Fantasy book club? Another great theme with lots of variety, and Jawa has posted the details here. I know I look forward to participating, and I hope you do too!
Got a giveaway or reading challenge you'd like to promote? Please comment.
Upcoming Reviews: Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey, A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files
Currently Reading: Blackout by Connie Willis
2010 Reading Total: 88 out of 100 (even if I hit 100, I doubt I'll up the goal to 125, because that's starting to get crazy).
2010 Comics Total: 333 out of 365. #334 will be tonight! Poll Time!
The following poll is for book clubbers only, and it's to go ahead and get a feel for something that MIGHT happen next year.
You all know that I'm getting pickier and pickier about finishing books that don't nab my interest, right? Well, one concern I have for the 2011 book club is that the book we end up selecting might be a book that I wouldn't finish otherwise. Part of me feels like, if it's for the book club, if it's something I put in a poll and you all selected, then I need to finish the thing come hell or high water, right? But the other part of me doesn't think so, that I should treat the book like everything else I'm reading and, if it doesn't hold my interest by page 100, I should put it aside, book club or not.
Now, this hasn't happened yet with a book club selection, so don't start thinking that I don't want to finish our current month's selection, Feed (because I've already finished it!). However, I am trying to think ahead and I want to know how you would feel if you were reading a challenge book and were ready for a discussion at the end of the month, only to learn I threw in the towel after page 100.
Again, this poll is for book club participants only. Even if you've only participated once, ask yourself how you would've felt had I not finished reading the challenge book that YOU did and were wanting to discuss. Mind you, I'd post a review explaining why I didn't finish it, but that's not the same as discussion. :)
Poll Challenge Books in the DNF Pile
Thanks for your help, and as always, if you have any questions, please comment below!