Bookshelf Challenge - ended July 10, 2010

[Luann]

I have the same problem, Sunflower! But don't worry. I think we'll have something soon to help you take care of that problem. :)

[Slayermel]

Hehehe, I can't wait! My shelf officially can't hold any more unread books so I have a fairly large pile growing on the floor by the couch. :0P

[Luann]

And speaking of our upcoming challenge, the two polls regarding that challenge will be open through Tuesday. If you have strong feelings one way or another, be sure to vote! The numbers are quite close, so a few more votes one way or another could make a real difference. If you have already voted, you can change your vote up until Tuesday as well.

[Karen]

I've now finished Alone in Berlin***** which I took from the historical fiction shelf and At Home: A Short History of Private Life*** which came from the non fiction shelf

[Tina]

Karen, good thinking to post the extras here too so they don't get lost.

I've also read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan **** from the Asian shelf and Vanity Fair **** from the classics shelf.

Am I interpreting this right Luann? We read any book from the original shelf, not just the reviewed books? If it's wrong, disregard these two books, but add them to your tbr piles because they were both fantastic!!

[Karen]

If it's only reviewed books and not the original shelves you'll have to disregard mine as well.

I've added Snow Flower and the Secret Fan to my tbr pile.

[Tina]

Luann wrote: "And speaking of our upcoming challenge, the two polls regarding that challenge will be open through Tuesday. If you have strong feelings one way or another, be sure to vote! The numbers are quite c..."

Do you guys send out emails or put up a post somewhere about the polls other than this post which I just saw? (I'm blaming it on Vanity Fair. If I wouldn't have been determinedly trying to finish before the end of June, I wouldn't have been a day late in seeing this post and just missing deadline for the polls--though technically it is still Tuesday when I'm writing it but the polls are already closed. Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair!) I've missed out on them! Which is a bummer because I love polls. . . there's just something about them that makes me feel like I've won a lottery if my choice wins ;)

[Tina]

Karen wrote: "If it's only reviewed books and not the original shelves you'll have to disregard mine as well.

I've added Snow Flower and the Secret Fan to my tbr pile."

Oh you'll LOVE it! (I hope! At least I loved it and hope you do! ;)

[BJ Rose]

Finished one more - - and currently working on two others - & , which is really interesting - it's a series of short vignettes about the hill people of India; some are funny, some are sad & depressing, some are poignant but upbeat.

[Slayermel]

Tina - You are interpreting it right, you can read any book off of the original shelf :0)

By the way great idea of posting the originals separate, it takes me a while to go through everyone’s original posts every time, So thank you :0)

Tina - To be honest with you I don't think there was an e-mail about the polls, that's definitely something Luann and I will look in to from now on. Let me see if there's a way to extend the poll for another day or two and send an e-mail out.

[Susan]

After the first 20 -- to be added to our shelves:

Fantasy: Gone by Michael Grant 4* finished 6/27/10
(Note: It was very hard for me whether to choose Fantasy and Science Fiction for this one--it seems to straddle the fence, and it's been shelved on both)

Young Adult: Grl2grl by Julie Ann Peters 5* finished 6/28/10

[Slayermel]

Okay,
Luann has managed to edit the polls so they will be open for another 2 days.
An e-mail notice to everyone did go out, so make sure your settings are set to allow others to e-mail you, as if they are set to private or blocking others from e-mailing you, you will not receive them.

Good luck to all, you still have a chance to vote or change your mind if you already voted :0)

[Luann]

Yes, there was an email about the polls. Or at least I had the system send one to every member of the group. And since some people voted almost immediately after they were created, I figured it was the email that alerted them. Make sure your email settings are up-to-date with GR and that you haven't opted out of receiving poll emails through your GR settings.

I thought the poll would be open for voting THROUGH Tuesday, but it only stayed open UNTIL Tuesday. I'll remember that for the next poll I create. And since the voting is so close and I misunderstood how the settings for the closing date would work, I've extended both polls to be open for two more days. So if you missed the earlier voting, you still have a chance! Go vote now! :)

[Luann]

LOL, Slayermel! GMTA - and at almost the exact same time!! That's why we work so well together!!! :)

[Slayermel]

Yuppers, especially since this keeps happening to us ;0p

[Tina]

Changed my settings, cast my votes (go classics, go!) and am now all set! Thanks guys for extending the voting deadline and getting me all straightened out :)

[Slayermel]

No problem :0) Glad you had a chance to vote, one voice always makes a difference.

[Karen]

I've now read The Day of the Owl which I took from the historical fiction shelf

[Karen]

Finished Wolf Hall which is on the favorites shelf

[Sunflower]

I have finished the challenge now. And already we are into planning for the next one!

[Luann]

Good job, Sunflower! With one week left! I've got just a few pages to go before finishing Rebecca, and then three books to go after that.

[Sunflower]

At the rate you read, you'll do it easily! (you've chosen some long ones this time).

[Tina]

Congratulations Sunflower!!!!

[Tina]

I've finished 1776 from the non-fiction shelf. And boy was it good :)

[Tina]

Luann wrote: "Good job, Sunflower! With one week left! I've got just a few pages to go before finishing Rebecca, and then three books to go after that."

I loved Rebecca. Hope you're liking it!

[Karen]

I've finished Eye of the Red Tsar: A Novel of Suspense from the mystery shelf.

[Amy]

WTG all who have finished! I have 4 books to go and am hoping to complete them by end of day on the 10th. It will be close...

[Luann]

Tina wrote: "I loved Rebecca. Hope you're liking it!"

I finished it in the wee hours this morning. I loved it!! That Mrs. Danvers! Yikes!! I see that several other people in the group are currently reading it as well, so I don't want to say too much. But WOW!!

[Karen]

I've finished The Paris Vendetta: A Novel from the adventure shelf and Equal Danger from the mystery shelf

[Susan]

After the first 20 -- to be added to our shelves:

Dystopia: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow 4* finished 6/29

Asian: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett 3* finished 7/3 [I found this on "Asia", but remember that she originally said "Asia" OR "Asian" for the shelf that month, since it's really just a spelling difference. :)

[Tina]

I finished the book, To Hold the Crown: The Story of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, ** fto be added to the Historical Fiction shelf

[Susan]

After the first 20 -- to be added to our shelves:

Fantasy: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner 3* finished 7/5

[Crystal]

I have 5 books left to read in just a few days. Yikes. I can't quite believe that I am doing this when I have so many other things on my "to do" list. You would think I am earning money for this or a prize or something. :)

[Luann]

Good luck, Crystal! I'm down to two books left, although I may not have as much time for reading as I was hoping the next few days. We'll see!

[Karen]

Adventure - The Marks of Cain*** the plot was fine the characters were annoying.

[Tina]

Crystal wrote: "I have 5 books left to read in just a few days. Yikes. I can't quite believe that I am doing this when I have so many other things on my "to do" list. You would think I am earning money for this..."

I was the same way when I had just five books left--like a woman possessed! But it's so cool to be able to that you conquered the challenged though! Good luck!

[Tina]

To those of you still finishing up, I'm here on the sidelines cheering you on! Go, Read, Go! (not very catchy, but the sentiment is there :)

[Blarneygod]

I have already admitted defeat on this challenge... but I am all ready to go on the next one... I start school in the fall, so I plan to read as much as I can the next two months.

[Sam]

I'm with you on that one Blarneygod, I just didn't have enough relevant books on my own shelves but totally set for the next one, got lists and options coming out of my ears for that (not literally mind you lol).

[Susan]

After the first 20:

Chick-lit: Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers 2.5* finished 7/8

to be added to our shelves: Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz 3* finished 7/7

Completed so far: 20 + 7

[Tina]

Nicholas and Alexandra **** 7/8/2010 from the Non-fiction shelf

Completed so far: 20 + 5

[Slayermel]

Susan, what shelf would you like me to add Stormbreaker too?

Geez you and Karen are just flying through the books :0P

[Karen]

My last one for the bookshelf challenge is from the mystery thriller shelf - The Railway Detective

[Susan]

Slayermel wrote: "Susan, what shelf would you like me to add Stormbreaker too?

Geez you and Karen are just flying through the books :0P"

I guess Young Adult makes the most sense.
Maybe if we do something similar later, someone else will read it and add it to mystery, because it would be good there too.

S

[Susan]

Karen wrote: "My last one for the bookshelf challenge is from the mystery thriller shelf - The Railway Detective"

Karen,
Congrats! I think you'll take the high number on this one. I've started a couple for the history shelf for this month that I've been having trouble sticking with (History is NOT my thing.). I'm going to have to declare myself done with the bookshelf challenge to make myself focus on Kim and Galileo's Daughter, or I'll never get to the other history books I chose for the month.

[Slayermel]

Congratulations to Karen, Susan & Tina who not only finished the challenge but added an additional 21 books to our shelves....Way to Go guys!!!!

Also Congratulations to Natasha and Sunflower for being able to finish the Challenge...Amazing!!!

Also I want to take this opportunity to point out How close Amy, Crystal & Luann were to finishing
Amy 19
Crystal 18
Luann 18

That's a lot of books read in just two months, I can't wait to see how you guys all do in the "YOU CHOOSE CHALLENGE".

Thank you to everyone who participated, you guys are what makes this group so special. :0)

[Amy]

Just finished my 20th book...Sloppy Firsts. I thought today was the last day.

[Tara]

I was so close to finishing Savvy! Oh well! Great job everyone and especially to all the finishers!

[Slayermel]

LOL....Oops sorry Amy, you are correct. My mind is elswhere with the new challenge starting today.

Congratulations to Amy for Also finishing :0)

Is there anyone else I missed with my Premature Post??? (sorry guys)

[Luann]

I just finished Dracula, which brings me to 19 books. So close! I wanted to finish, but life kept getting in the way. The only way I was able to finish Dracula was by downloading the audio from Librivox and carrying it around with me while running errands, etc. I'll save my 20th to read in the YOU CHOOSE challenge.

Congrats to everyone who finished and everyone who participated! It was a fun challenge. I read some books I loved and some books I didn't. My top favorite was Rebecca.