Introduce Yourself to the Group!

[Nathan]

Hi Grace! Welcome. :)

[Nathaly]

Welcome Grace and Amanda!

[Grace]

thanx

[Lilac]

Haha, Hello Book(!), welcome to the group! I hope you like it and possibly join in with some of our challenges.
How do you manage to read so many books in a year by the way?

[Amy]

How on earth do you read 500 books in a year!?

Welcome :)

[Nathan]

Hi Book! Welcome to the group. :)

[Ashley]

♥iLoveBooks♥ wrote: "Hi, my name is Brook, please call me Book. I finished my 2012 Reading Challenge, which was to read 250 books, and my goal for next year is to read 500 books."

Welcome to the group, Book! Good luck in your reading goal for next year!! 500 books is quite amazing!

Welcome to the group, Amanda and Grace. We hope you enjoy the group and our many reading challenges! :)

[[deleted user]]

Hey everyone,
I'm Shardae, mother of a five year old boy and four year old daughter.I currently reside in Santa Monica Ca and I love to read whenever I can.

[Ashley]

Welcome to the group, Shardae! Santa Monica, CA is beautiful! My hubby and I like the Santa Monica Pier. Have fun reading and joining in our challenges. :)

[Mary (Biblophile)]

Hello everyone. My name is Mary and I love a challenge. Just found this group and looks like fun.

I've set my goal at 300, but hope to do better. Last year I did 325, not counting all the books I didn't finish. Put too much pressure on myself and less time to read this year, so didn't surpass that. Going to keep it at this year's level and hope I can do better.

I love cozies, regular mysteries, and paranormal. About the only thing I don't like are romances, westerns, and book-of-the-month picks.

[Nathan]

Welcome newcomers!! It's great to see so many new people here. :)

[Kara]

Welcome, everyone!

Amanda: that sounds totally reasonable. Anna Karenina took me two months (!), so it makes sense to lower your overall book goal. You would, however, totally kill our Let's Turn Pages Challenge, so you should definitely participate in that one!

[Zara's Corner]

Hi my name is Zara.
I'm a happily married woman and I have two beautiful teenagers - a girl and a boy. My daughter and I share a great love of books and reading. My daughter reads widely - she's only 14! - and she has contributed significantly to helping me expand my own reading repertoire. I have, in the last month, finished 5 years of studying at uni and I'll be receiving my Bachelor of Arts in Theology degree next February, therefore, reading lots of books is my way of celebrating a job very well done.

I live in Western Australia, Australia and am in the beginnings of our Summer here. I look forward to communicating with people in this group as well as seeing if I can challenge myself in the process. Please be patient with me as I feel my way around the group and get to know you all.

Thanks

[Nathan]

Hi Zara! Welcome to the group. Congrats on finishing school while still raising kids! That's amazing. :D

[Leonie]

Hi. My name is Leonie. I am Zara's teenage daughter.LOL. I am homeschooled and have been for just over the last 2 years. I am currently working towards my Year 10 graduation certificate. I go to a Drama class which I absolutely love and can't get enough of. I have a really great group of friends there.

As my mum said, I share her love of reading. Over the years, I have read a really wide variety of books from Christian Romance to normal Young Adult (or now adult) books. I have also read things like the Twilight Saga which I absolutely loved.

I own a cat who has only just turned 1 in the last month but she still looks like a 6 month old kitten. Her name is Cheeky and she really lives up to that. She is a Grey Tabby and she is gorgeous.

I am a comfort eater but also a chocoholic so just give me any excuse to eat chocolate and I will.

I have one annoying brother (but I still love him).

You will need to be patient with me as well cause I am very shy around new people (even if I can't see them).

Thanks

[Kaitlin]

Hi, I'm Kaitlin. I work in finance and love reading, knitting, playing piano, writing and running in my spare time. I have a wonderful husband who jokes that he can't read, and most of my friends don't read much, so I like finding people on Goodreads to discuss books with.

I am pretty new to reading challenges (I finished my first one in a different group last month) but am excited to keep going with them. I've also done a couple buddy reads and find reading that way extra satisfying.

My favorite genres are literary fiction (including classics) and some nonfiction (especially psychology and sociology), but I'm pretty open-minded.

[Nathan]

Welcome Leonie, I'm happy to see GR becoming a family thing! haha :)

Welcome Kaitlin!

[Kara]

Welcome, Zara and Leonie! Feel free to ask questions as you go along if you have them--we're happy to help.

Kaitlin, the Goodreads 100 challenge sounds like it'd be right up your alley--there's a bunch of classics on the list. You can check it out here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

[Kaitlin]

Thanks Kara...That sounds awesome! I know there are a ton of big-name ones I've never read.

[Kara]

Welcome, Melissa! What kinds of books do you like to read?

[Sonia]

Hi. My name is Sonia & it's great to be in goodreads.

[Kara]

I like short stories too, Melissa!

Welcome, Sonia! Let us know if you have any questions.

[Nathaly]

Sarajayne wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm back :D The past couple months have been rough, but we're now on the other side of things and everything should be much calmer from now on! My mil finished her last radiation treat..."

So happy to see you back Sara

[Kara]

Sara, I'm SO THRILLED that you're back and things in your life have calmed down. We've really missed you!

[Wendy]

Hi everyone!

I'm Wendy... I just found this group today when looking for a reading challenge group. This one looks great. I'm an author and write a lot more than I read so I'm trying to fix that bad habit.

Wendy

[Kara]

Welcome, Wendy! It's always great when authors join us. :)

[Megan]

My name is Megan, and I'm a criminal defense attorney. More than TV or movies, reading really helps to ease the stress of my job. My prior book challenge group petered out, so I'm looking forward to getting back to challenging myself and stepping outside of my typical reading patterns. Thanks and have a happy holiday!

[Dani]

Hello everyone, my name is Dani, and I am new to goodreads. And I am excited to get started on here!

[Nathan]

Welcome newcomers!! Wow there are a lot of you! ;)

And welcome back Sara! It's awesome to have you back. :D Glad things are calm again!

[Jen]

Hi Everyone -

I've been lurking in the challenge for awhile, just waiting to get set up for 2013. I'm excited to join you all. It looks like a fun group with a lot of great reading going on. Happy Holidays everyone!

[Nathan]

Welcome Jen and Nikki! :)

[Carrie]

Hello everybody! I'm Carrie. First time participating in any sort of book group. Live in a small town in Missouri, but getting ready to move across the country to Washington in April. Lots of free time, so I read. No favorite author or genre of books. I am currently reading The Twelve Tribes of Hattie which is Oprah's book club pick and The Mortals by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee.

[Johanna]

Welcome all newcomers and so glad you´re back Sarajayne!! Been waiting for you, almost got the scares that you´ve decided not to return :)

[Jen]

Carrie wrote: "Hello everybody! I'm Carrie. First time participating in any sort of book group. Live in a small town in Missouri, but getting ready to move across the country to Washington in April. Lots of f..."

Carrie - which part of WA are you headed to? I'm in Seattle, but grew up on the other side of the state.

[Ashley]

Welcome all new members!!! I promise I'm not the antisocial moderator, lol. I'm doing everything from my phone at the moment. My husband and i are spending the holidays in North Carolina. My moms laptop blew up and then she got rid of the internet, lol.

We have some fun things going on in the group and will be posting these throughout the year! Lets have a bunch of fun this year!!

Carrie, I just moved from Missouri in June. Have you ever heard of Kirksville?

[Carrie]

Ashley wrote: "Welcome all new members!!! I promise I'm not the antisocial moderator, lol. I'm doing everything from my phone at the moment. My husband and i are spending the holidays in North Carolina. My moms l..."

Yes I have heard of Kirksville. It's about a 5 1/2 hr drive from me. Central part of Missouri. We are in the sticks down here lol

[Carrie]

Jen wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Hello everybody! I'm Carrie. First time participating in any sort of book group. Live in a small town in Missouri, but getting ready to move across the country to Washington in Ap..."

We are heading to Fort Lewis. My husband is in the Army. Can't wait for all that rain :).

[Audrey]

Hello Everyone! My name is Audrey and I live in a small town in Central Kentucky. I have been married for 6.5 years and have a 4.5 year old son. He is being home schooled and is in Kindergarten. He loves reading with mommy. We just started reading the Box Car Children. I have already started several challenges for 2013 including some personal challenges. I want to read 250 children's books with my son plus at least 50 other books. I love Historical Fiction, memoirs, books about slavery, the underground railroad, Quakers, the Holocaust, and poetry. I love Non-fiction. I am planning on reading several Civil War Era Diaries this coming year. I hope to branch out a bit into other genres as well.

[Nathan]

Welcome to all the recent newbies! I mean this in the kindest most loving way possible. ;P

[Anoop]

hello everyone... :) i am Anoop Pai, full time banker and a part time ambigram arrtist!! i love any books but i generally prefer hefty books!!!

[Violet]

Hello !

I have read about 80 books in 2012 - well, the year is not over ! - and I would like to do better in 2013, so I will try to do 120. It's quite ambitious, I am not too sure I can do it but I will certainly try.
I study Irish literature (I spent 3 years in Ireland), I am French and I live in London - recently, I have been obsessed with Victorian literature, and I also read a lot of Irish poetry. Generally I prefer classics, I don't read too many contemporary novels, but my boyfriend convinces me sometimes to give it a try ;)

[Anki]

Hi!

I am not new to Goodreader, but I hardly use the groups in here. Thought I might give it a try. Enjoyed Challenge 2012, and I always love a challenge. I love to read and read mostly crime novels and contemporary novels.

[Kara]

Hello! My name is Kara (apparently the best name EVER), and I am pretty new to the online book clubs. I just graduated college with a degree in psychology and a minor in criminal justice. I love to read, but for the last few semesters I haven't really had time. Now that I'm done, though, I'm ready to start reading non-stop like it used to (non-stop may be a little to dramatic actually, but you catch the gist.) I was in a paranormal romance rut, but I've started reading Dean Koontz and re-reading The Hobbit. I like a lot of different genres, although I prefer fiction to nonfiction. I can't wait to get started!

[Nathan]

Welcome Anoop, Violaine, Ann, and Kara!

[Jen]

Carrie wrote: "Jen wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Hello everybody! I'm Carrie. First time participating in any sort of book group. Live in a small town in Missouri, but getting ready to move across the country to Wash..."

Carrie - you do get used to the rain. I've been here so long now I dry out if I don't get some rain every few days. And you'll get here at a good time. The summers are the most gorgeous I've seen anywhere!

[Ashley]

Welcome new members! I'm really looking forward to 2013 and getting to know everyone better!! :)

[Maria]

Hi everyone! This is my first group since I started my newest addiction Goodreads :) I completed 2 challenges so far, Last year I read 50 books. This year 61-Both times meeting my goals-Yay! I love reading most genres and I always seem to have a book in my hand. No one in my house reads, So I rarely have anyone to discuss my recently devoured book- Excited to be here and Im considering upping my challenge again to 70 books for 2013 Oh and just to throw this out there- My 2 favorite books this year were The Autobiography of Mrs. Thom Thumb and The Fault In Our Stars- John Green.

[Brittany Lynn]

I'm Brittany. A mom to three kids and a fiancee to a soldier serving over seas. I love to read and have since I was a teen.

[Nathan]

Welcome Maria and Brittany!

[Amanda]

Hello! I'm Amanda (there seem to be a few of us here!). I'm a SAHM to two little girls, and a former teacher of history and mathematics. I have read 46 books this year, and will likely finish 1-2 more before the year is done. I like a weird mix of books - this year I read a bunch of Agatha Christie novels that my sister loaned me, but I also read some classics, some theology, some education, and some history of mathematics. I read over some of the challenges going on or planned around here and am excited about participating!