Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
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I Heart Indie Books Reading Challenge 2011
I added
because I think it's indie so let me know if I'm wrong. :)
Oh yeah, that's indie. Pretty intense cover image!
Smashwords is have a week long sale for Read an Ebook Week March 6-12. Now is a great time to scoop up some indie books for the challenge! https://www.smashwords.com/books/cate...
I just got 16 books and it's only the first day...I'm doomed! ;)
Grace wrote: (I don't see "The Fear" by Julio Angel Ortiz on Goodreads yet)It's available now and I added an image for it.
It's been a little quiet around here. How's everybody doing on the challenge? I've been watching all the lists grow and I'm getting lots of good ideas for future reading! I think we may have lost a few people though or they are just too busy right now.
Michelle wrote: "Grace wrote: (I don't see "The Fear" by Julio Angel Ortiz on Goodreads yet)It's available now and I added an image for it."
Thanks!
I'm adding to my list every few weeks or so, and just adding all the ones I've read since the last add. I have noticed some don't have anything since the beginning of January. It is hard to keep up with challenges sometimes....
Hi, Michelle - just found this thread! As you know, I'm doing the I Heart Indie Books Reading Challenge. In helping to spread the word about the wonderful selection of Indie books out there, I'm going to be blogging about my progress and reviews. My eighth review is of the action-packed fantasy, The Crown Conspiracy
http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
Happy Indie Reading!
Sibel Hodge :)
I've added a few short stories I've read by indie authors to my list and marked them as such. Hope that's OK.
My ninth review is of the sweet romance, The Merry-Go-Round.Full review on my blog: http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
Happy Indie Reading!
Sibel Hodge
I'm signed up to do the challenge, but haven't read anything yet. I wish I knew if a new book that catches my eye is an indie book or not.So far on my Indie bookshelf I have (to read):
If anyone sees any that is not an Indie book in there please let me know = )
Hey Kelly, actually it is pretty easy to figure out once you start to read them a lot. For the purpose of this challenge indie is defined primarily as self-published authors, but also can be a small indie publisher. Most of your list is indie. These are the few I believe are not:Clarity (published by Scholastic)
Eternal (published by Kensington)
XVI (published by Puffin, a division of Penguin)
If you are ever not sure just ask here and I'm sure someone here will help ya out. :)
(and i think you just made my wishlist grow! lol!)
Sandy wrote: "I've added a few short stories..."How did you like
short story? I thought it was a hoot.
Sibel wrote: "Hi, Michelle - just found this thread! As you know, I'm doing the I Heart Indie Books Reading Challenge. In helping to spread the word about the wonderful selection of Indie books out there, I'm going to be blogging about my progress and reviews."Hey Sibel, glad you found us. That sounds great!
Michelle wrote: "Sandy wrote: "I've added a few short stories..."How did you like
short story? I thought it was a hoot."It was a fun read.
Thanks for the help Michelle. I just found out about Spencer Hill Press which is "an independent publishing house that specializes in sci-fi, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance for young adult readers."
I read that Amanada Hocking just got a publishing contract with St Martin's for a new series "Watersong"
Hi everyone!My tenth review for this challenge of In Search of Lucy - a dramatic story of family relationships.
More on my blog... http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
I've noticed that a bunch of the freebies I've been picking up happen to be Indie books as listed in this thread. With Sibel so actively promoting this challenge (lol), I decided I might as well join since I've been trying to trim down the freebies TBR pile anyway. But I'm going to need help determining which are Indies. That was one reason I had not joined until now. I'm going to do Level 1 Bronze starting April, maybe 2 books a month.
April
The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian S. Pratt
(That cover freaks me out.)
I hope that these two are rightly indies. Also, could someone tell me whether Jana DeLeon could be considered an indie author? Apparently she was published with Dorchester and got the rights to her books back, which she is now selling on Smashwords.
Hi niquae!Yay! Another person for the challenge!
It looks like Brian S.Pratt and Christopher Buecheler are both Indies. I think Jana used to publish with Harlequinn, too, but looks like she's put some work up herself now, so, yes, she's an Indie!
Enjoy! :)
I just put up another review for the reading challenge! http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev... - a fun read! :)
I enjoyed both of these. Heads is a meandering, comic 'road trip' type book about a young Irish artist who gets in trouble with a priest in San Francisco.
Hold My Hand is a supernatural thriller, first published by Random House (I think) and now published by the author for the kindle in a new edition.
I gave both books 5*. I have put the reviews on Amazon & here - not sure if I'll add them to my blog as I tend to just do one line recommendations of books I have read and enjoyed, as well as blogs I read, etc.
Helen
http://helensmithblog.blogspot.com
Just finished Maid for Me - a fun YA romcom. More details of my challenge update and the review on my blog http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev... :)
My thirteenth review is of Bootscootin' Blahniks - a fun-packed chicklit-country romp... Full review on http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev... :)
I'm doing two Indie Books Reading Challenges for 2011 - the ABC Indie Fiction Challenge, and the I Heart Indie Books Reading Challenge (more details below). In helping to spread the word about the wonderful selection of Indie books out there, I'm going to be blogging about my progress and reviews. My 14th review is of Sweet Seduction - a really sweet romance.
http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
erm, looks like trying to do 2 Indie books this month was a little bit ambitious for me. lol. Next month won't be a good month either so I'll just try to finish The Unsuspecting Mage by June. Sibel, I have Sweet Seduction. I'm glad you liked it. I might end up substituting The Unsuspecting Mage with that for next month (or maybe even this month?) instead. I'll see how it goes.
My sixteenth review is of Take No More by Seb Kirby - a fast-paced mystery... http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
I think that Aleksandr Voinov and Marquesate are indie authors - or at least, the work I am reading right now have been self-published. May
Special Forces: Soldiers Director's Cut by Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate done
Special Forces: Mercenaries I by Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate done
Special Forces: Mercenaries II by Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate done
Special Forces: Veterans by Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate done
Sweet Seductions by Tania Tirraoro done
I think
Jack Brighton is also indie? He publishes with Firm Hand Books. Read "In the Dark" by him.
Great stuff, niquae! I've just come back from holiday and had some me time with my Kindle so will be posting a few reviews when I catch up with my millions of emails! Arghhhhhhhh! :)
I hope you enjoyed your holiday. Welcome back. :)
I did, thanks! First holiday in 5 years so it was nice to chillax and get away from everything :)
Finished Sweet Seductions by Tania Tirraoro. Yes, it was a sweet romance but to be honest, I wasn't really impressed by it. I will admit though that these days I'm pretty burnt out by the traditional romance genre, and I am a lot more critical with the books I read. Keeping that in mind, aside from the romance books I've already decided on reading for various challenges as well as romance authors I'm still a fan of (very, very few - or is it only one?), I think I'll be taking a bit of a break. No more indies for me this month besides finishing up Special Forces: Veterans by Aleksandr Voinov & Marquesate. I have to finish finish up a couple of library books and two books for a May challenge.
June
Finish The Unsuspecting Mage by Brian Pratt (I hope?)
Mischief in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon
Happy reading, niquae!My seventeenth review is of Burn Out - a captivating thriller... http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
I'm so behind on this challenge...
I am behind on upadating all my challenges too. *puts it on today's to-do list*Erika- That book sounds really good. I might have to see if I can find it somewhere online for cheap.
Niquae- Now that school is out I am reading a lot more. I still don't read as much as I used to. Getting older means more responsibilities and less reading time! Why does it have to be like that? :(
What new program are you starting? I have that suspicious feeling too. Educational Admin probably won't be a cakewalk.
I finally updated mine tonight! I wasn't quite as behind as I feared, luckily ;) I actually completed the challenge (according to my count- 60 indie books), but I'm gearing up for 100 ebooks read and figure they'll probably almost all be indies ;)
Erika wrote: "Hey everyone...I'm so behind on posting my updated list here. I think the last time I did it was February. Sorry! I'll have to do a challenge check-in post on my blog or something, then I'll have t..."My favourite so far has been
by a huge margin. Just bought Reunion, looking forward to reading it - I haven't been able to get into anything for a bit.
I'm doing two Indie Books Reading Challenges for 2011 - the ABC Indie Fiction Challenge, and the I Heart Indie Books Reading Challenge (more details below). In helping to spread the word about the wonderful selection of Indie books out there, I'm going to be blogging about my progress and reviews. My nineteenth review is of The Assassins' Village - a fab Agatha Christie style mystery set in Cyprus...
http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
Completed a book for June ^_^Mischief in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon
It was a fairly easy read. I had enjoyed the first book more, but the second one was fun as well. The ghost, Helena, was as crazy as ever - or crazier, rather. Although it's been a while since I had read the first book so my memory is not entirely reliable, I thought that Helena's personality had changed just a bit in this book.
While it's a ghost story/mystery/romance, I felt that the romance took a backseat to the mystery, which was fine by me but due to the limited on-screen time of hero and heroine interacting with each other, the fact that they fell in love with each other was just the slightest bit unconvincing (it was more like love at first sight, I suppose). I liked the hero well enough, who was former FBI turned detective. His background story for why he chose the specialty he did - searching for missing persons - made sense. The heroine didn't stand out too much to me, but heroines rarely do for me.
The mystery of who was trying to kill the heroine was quite a mystery. I couldn't figure it out until the heroine did although...I'm not that great with figuring out whodunits in the first place so that's may not mean much.
I was bothered about two things. One was the significance of the heroine's great-aunt's diary entry, which I didn't think was explained. The other was how neatly everything fell into place. Granted, the tone of the book was fairly humorous and light-hearted, and as a mystery romance, we're guaranteed a HEA, but it seemed terribly convenient the way things ended up to the point of it being unnatural - or forced, even.
I do intend to read the third book though. I do enjoy this series, especially the ghost.
This book is available on Smashwords.com for $3.99 (I think).
Now, will I manage to finally finish reading The Unsuspecting Mage? Doubt it since I am barely into the third chapter and cannot muster up enough interest to continue.
That sounds interesting Niquae - must check that out!My 20th review is of Confessions of a Call Center Gal: a novel - a laugh-out-loud chicklit novel...
http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
I may check out Confessions of a Call Center Gal. I'm a bit hesitant though since the book blurb seems to say it is comparable to Sophie Kinsella's works whose first book I tried, Confessions of a Shopaholic, ended up as a Did-Not-Finish read for me.
Oh, really? I love Sophie Kinsella. Yes, I would say it is a similar style to hers so it may not be for you in that case. :)
I don't know, Sibel. I think the reason I couldn't get into Confessions of a Shopaholic was because the heroine felt so superficial to me. I couldn't relate to her at all. The heroine in Confessions of a Call Center Gal might be more relate-able to me. I just finished a short story by Eva Gale called "Hysteria" which is about a young woman who is in treatment for female hysteria in the late 19th century. It was an interesting read but too short. I felt that parts of it could have been expanded. It's available for free on Smashwords.
Interesting - must check that out, thanks! :)
Just downloaded Hysteria. Thanks for the tip :)
You're welcome, Sibel. I hope you enjoy it. I found it a bit too short and odd myself.
Another one for my Indie Books Reading Challenges. Sink or Swim is a supenseful stalker-mystery that will keep you guessing!http://www.sibelhodge.com/my-blog/rev...
Nothing But Reading Challenges
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Pssst! All you other challenge participants...check out Helen's comment on my blog post for this challenge...it's a good thing ;)