The Year of Readers

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What it is:

It’s an easy concept (which is probably why I thought of it). You pick a literary charity that you want to support in 2009. You sign up to be part of The Year of Readers, get people to sponsor you and just start reading whatever you like. If you’re going to read next year why not join and help a bookish charity at the same time?

I'm already sponsoring The Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy through work, so I decided to choose Reading is Fundamental for this "challenge." For every book I read in 2009, I'm going to donate $1.00 to RIF. If my reading trend continues, I'll have donated over $100 by the end of 2009.

Young Adult Book Challenge

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Rules:
* Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate.
* Read 12 Young Adult novels. You may list your chosen books any time during the year. Change the list if needed.
* Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.
* You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

My list:
1. Aquamarine, Alice Hoffman
2. Audrey, Wait!, Robin Benway
3. Bingo Brown's Guide to Romance, Betsy Byars
4. Enthusiasm, Polly Shulman
5. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
6. Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
7. Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
8. Taffy Sinclair Strikes Again, Betsy Haynes
9. Taffy Sinclair, Queen of the Soaps, Betsy Haynes
10. Taffy Sinclair and the Romance Machine Disaster, Betsy Haynes
11. Blackmailed by Taffy Sinclair, Betsy Haynes
12. Taffy Sinclair, Baby Ashley, and Me, Betsy Haynes
13. Taffy Sinclair and the Secret Admirer Epidemic, Betsy Haynes
14. The Truth About Taffy Sinclair, Betsy Haynes

14 / 12 - I'd say I'm done! Some of those were really short, though, so I probably shouldn't count them as a whole book. Plus, it's not like I'm going to stop reading YA for the rest of the year...

The Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge

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Rules:
*The challenge runs from January 1 to March 31. (No cheating and starting before!)
* You must read three books. After that, it's up to you how much you want to read.
* The books must: have a food name in the title OR be about cooking/eating OR have a place name in the title OR be about one (or more) person's travel experience OR be about a specific culture OR be by an author whose ethnicity is other than your own (see, I squeezed it in!)
I'll leave it up to you to choose how the three books you read fit the criteria.
* They must be middle-grade on up, but can be either fiction or non-fiction.

My list:
1. Under the Tuscan Sun - Frances Mayes
2. Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
3. Gentlemen of the Road - Michael Chabon

100 Shots of Short Challenge

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Rules:

The challenge is a simple one - no time limit, no specific titles, just the goal of reading 100 self-picked short stories as and when possible.

I'll be adding the titles below as I read them. My goal is to finish by December 31, 2009.

My list:
1. "The Cold Equations," Tom Godwin
2. "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket," Jack Finney
3. "Everyday Use," Alice Walker
4. "Lamb to the Slaughter," Roald Dahl
5. "The Masque of the Red Death," Edgar Allan Poe
6. "The Nine Billion Names of God," Arthur C. Clarke
7. "The Pedestrian," Ray Bradbury
8. "The Storyteller," Saki

Delurking December

Shauna is inviting everyone to participate in Delurking December:

I'm designating this month as Delurking December! Consider giving the gift of your comments to bloggers whose blogs you read regularly or happen upon. Please help spread the word!

So if you've recently received a really random* "Jessi was here!" comment, now you know why. :)

* Alliteration = happiness!

Weekly Geeks #27: Dewey

Becky had a great idea for Weekly Geeks #27:

I was thinking that it might be nice for those bloggers who are Weekly Geeks to pay tribute to Dewey in the next week or so. To take the time to post to their blogs a "Weekly Geek" post about Dewey--maybe share their favorite posts from her site, maybe share a memory or two about participating in weekly geeks, the bookworms carnival, the 24 Hour Readathon, or one of Dewey's challenges, maybe just share a favorite memory of Dewey in general, what they'll miss most, how they'll remember her, etc. I'm going to post mine today--but bloggers anywhere and everywhere are encouraged to post whenever they want. Please come back to this post to leave your link. I'll be rounding up responses.

My favorite thing about Dewey was the the way she brought us all together and made us a community. I first became "acquainted" with her through the Read-a-Thon. So far, I've participated in two - first as a cheerleader, and then as a reader (and cheerleader). Her enthusiasm and encouragement were inspiring. The 'Thon was pretty much my introduction to the world of book blogging, and I cannot express how appreciative I am to Dewey for that. Through her, I've met some amazing people and been exposed to new ideas, experiences, and, of course, books.

I came late to Weekly Geeks - my first contribution was for #9, which worked out well since I had also recently signed up for a few challenges. But my absolute favorite theme was #26. I had always shied away from blog-hopping in the past, but I decided to give this one a try. I'm so glad I did, because I met more interesting people through that activity than anything else I've done as a book blogger (with the possible exception of the most recent Read-a-Thon). Dewey's ability to help create and foster that sense of family was a blessing for everyone, and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to take part in that experience.

A few weeks ago, she sent me an e-mail to tell me who I was playing Secret Santa to, and referred to me as her "Primrose twin" (because our street names, despite being on opposite sides of the country, are similar). Now, every time I drive home I think of her. It seems strange that someone I never met in real life could have such an impact on my life. To be honest, I'm still a little in shock that she's no longer with us. When I read her husband's post about Dewey's death, I was stunned. I had no idea she was sick, but I'm glad that she is no longer in pain. I was always a little in awe of Dewey - she was just such a presence, and always seemed so tireless. My heart goes out to her friends and family; I can only imagine what they are dealing with. I'm glad that Dewey's projects are being continued - I'm sure she would have wanted that. Andi did a great job of expressing the importance of our little community, and I don't think I could say it better. Dewey was an amazing person, and we're all going to miss her.

Booking Through Thursday: 5 for Favorites

Today's Booking Through Thursday question(s):

1. Do you have a favorite author?

2. Have you read everything he or she has written?

3. Did you LIKE everything?

4. How about a least favorite author?

5. An author you wanted to like, but didn’t?

My absolute favorite author is Jane Austen. I've read all of her published novels and her three unfinished ones, but not her juvenile fiction (although I would love to get my hands on it someday). I enjoyed all of her novels, and I wish Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sandition had been completed because I'm sure I would've liked them as well. As fragments, they're not bad.

I don't have a least favorite author. There are a few books I've read that I didn't really enjoy (one of the Op Center novels by Tom Clancy - I can't even remember which one it was!) and others that I was just sort of "meh" about (The Ruins). I haven't bothered to read anything else by those authors, but that's more because I stick to what I like rather than out of any sort of active dislike. So there's not really an author I wanted to like, but didn't, either. Although I really wanted to like The Last Temptation of Christ, which I started reading for the 1% Well-Read Challenge, but I just had to stop. I loved the movie, but the book just wasn't holding my attention. I'll probably try and read it again some other time, but for right now, I'm giving up on it.

But you don't have to take my word for. Visit btt for more opinions.

In Memory of Dewey

Stephanie and Bethany have created buttons in honor of Dewey:

Prop 8 - The Musical

One of the high points of this year's Dragon*Con was hearing George Takei gush about his then-upcoming wedding to Brad Altman. It was adorable, to say the least. Sadly, less than two months after he and his partner of 21 years exchanged vows, Proposition 8 was passed. American't had an immediate response to the vote, and now's there's a Funny or Die video with a similar feel:

P.S. - If you thought NPH was awesome in that, do yourself a favor and check out Dr. Horrible.

Remembering Dewey...

Like most of us, I was shocked to read about the passing of our beloved Dewey. I had no idea she was ill, and a part of me still can't believe she's gone. Several people have already begun planning ways to remember her:

* Becky at Becky's Book Reviews has suggested that we pay tribute to Dewey in this week's Weekly Geeks post, so expect a remembrance post from me this Saturday.
* Raych is seeking Dewey-loving artists to create an RIP Dewey button.
* The 18th edition of Bookworms Carnival (the theme of which is "memoirs") has been dedicated to Dewey.
* Florinda has done a great job of rounding up all the individual tribute posts to Dewey and posting the links on her blog.
* Lisa Roe has offered to pass along condolences to Dewey's family.
* And there are more ideas at this BookBlogs page.