As always for longer read-athons, I’m just going to try to read a bit more than usual. This week, I’d particularly like to read and review When Beauty Slept and The Bombers and the Bombed since they come out on Thursday. I’m also hoping to fit in something just purely for fun without a review deadline. Perhaps The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress or The Year of Living Biblically. I’m also looking forward to the mini-challenge! I’ll be tracking my reading progress throughout the week here.

Monday
Pages Read: 153
Books Read: Emma
Books Finished: Emma

Tuesday
Pages Read: 68
Books Read: While Beauty Slept
Books Finished: 

Wednesday
Pages Read: 77
Books Read: While Beauty Slept
Books Finished:

Thursday
Pages Read: 291
Books Read: While Beauty Slept, The Bombers and the Bombed
Books Finished: While Beauty Slept

The post Love For Books Read-athon appeared first on Doing Dewey.

Today, as part of Literary Love 2014, I’d like to share some of the upcoming bookish events I’m looking forward to, as well as some of the recurring events I’ve loved in the past.

I always love read-a-thons. They’re both a great way to interact with other bloggers and a little push to read instead of watching TV in the evenings. The Love For Books Read-a-thon this weekend will include at least one mini-challenge and a giveaway. I’m excited to get started! I’d also like to mention Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon which is a ton of fun and takes place every April and October. There’s also an Ides of March read-a-thon coming up that I plan to jump into.

I also really love read-alongs. One of the best parts of blogging is getting to discuss books you’ve read with other people and a read-along is a great way to find other people reading the same book. Cornethia of The CORN-versation is currently running a The House Girl read-along which I’d love to get caught up on if I have the time this week. A great place to find read-alongs is the Book Buddies group started by Anya at On Starships and Dragonwings.

Finally, there are random, fun themed events that I’m looking forward to or have enjoyed in the past. In April, Cayce of Fighting Dreamer will be running a month long LGBT reading event, which I might join. Although I’m trying to read more LGBT books, I’m not sure if I’ll be reading enough for a month long event! I’m also looking forward to reading at least one book by Stephen King as part of an event that Rory at Fourth Street Review and Wendy at Wensend have in the works. In the past, I’ve also enjoyed Non-Fiction November, hosted by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness and of course, Bloggiesta.

What are some of your favorite bookish blogging events? Anything fun coming up? Feel free to share your answer or other bookish love related posts below in the #LiteraryLove14 link-up!

The post Literary Love 2014 – Bookish Blogging Events I Love appeared first on Doing Dewey.

Title: 

Ten years ago the entire royal family of Lumatere was slain and the kingdom fell under a curse. Surrounded by an impenetrable magic barrier, half of her people remain trapped inside with an evil king and half wander the land outside as exiles. On the outside, Finnikin and his guardian Sir Topher have struggled to find a home for the Lumateren exiles, but when they meet an exile named Evanjalin who claims the heir to the throne is alive, they have to consider the possibility that they have a hope of returning home.

It could just have been too long since I’ve read an epic fantasy story, but I really reveled in all of the great but somewhat expected elements in this book. It never felt cliched to me; just like it was exactly what it should be. It struck me as the sort of story that my history-major friends who wish they lived in the middle ages would dream of living. It was epic. The actions of the characters affect the fate of countries Both great heroism and great sacrifice are called for. There were prophecies, curses, quests, missing heirs, and magic kingdoms. All of the elements a great epic fantasy needs were present and accounted for.

I think what kept all of this epicness from becoming over the top or cliched was the author’s amazing way with characters. All of the characters felt unique and three-dimensional. All had their strengths and their flaws. They didn’t always get along, but they did discuss their problems like human beings, instead of like frustrating characters in some young adult novel. They didn’t make their own problems. Even our hero is portrayed as very human and the author addresses some impressively modern gender role issues through his relationship with Evanjalin. Although this lacked some of the depth and world building you might see in a longer novel, overall I thought this was an incredibly impressive story with great characters.

This review was part of The Journey Home, a series of reviews and discussions of Finnikin of the Rock. You can find participants here. Thanks to Charlene at Bookish Whimsy and Paola at A Novel Idea for hosting!

Amazon|Goodreads

The post Finnikin of the Rock appeared first on Doing Dewey.

Congrats to the winner of a $10 Amazon Giftcard, Kai at Fiction State of Mind!

It’s hour 20!  We made it! Well, actually, I’m scheduling this in advance, so you and the minions definitely made it. I might be asleep by now! Either way, welcome to the hour 20 Let’s Get Social challenge Here’s what we’re going to be doing…

A while ago I wrote a discussion post about how I comment in order to get the best interactions with other bloggers. The gist of it is this:

• whenever you read a post, be thinking about a meaningful comment you can leave
• if someone comments on your blog, comment on theirs
• comment on 3-5 blogs ahead of you in every link up you add to
• talk to people on twitter

I think all of these things have one thing in common that makes them work so well. They all connect you with people who share your interests enough for you to follow them; for them to follow you; or for you to be participating in the same events. I had maybe one or two people I felt like I was getting to know through my blog before I started doing these things. Since doing these things, I’ve gotten to know a lot of new people and really started to feel like part of a community.

So, my challenge for you is the following: pick one or more of the things above to try and sometime in the next three hours, come back and leave me a comment letting me know what you did. That’s it! I’ll then choose a winner at random from people who have commented and they will get a $10 Amazon gift card when I announce the winner at the beginning of hour 23. Happy reading!

The post Hour 20 – Let’s Get Social! appeared first on Doing Dewey.

You guys! Today is the first day of bloggiesta and I’m so excited to get started! I don’t think I’ll get much done today since there’s work during the day and I’m having friends over tonight, but this weekend I’m going to get os much done. I do wish I’d been able to host a challenge but for some reason I wasn’t following The Bloggiesta blog (which you should definitely do!), but next time I will and it will be epic Here’s my current to-do list which I’ll update here as I go. Wish me luck and go have lots of fun with Bloggiesta!

To Do

• get caught up on cross-listing posts to Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Cannonball Read V
• work on re-categorizing posts
• participate in Saturday and Sunday twitter chats
• do at least six mini-challenges
• write reviews for the six books I’ve read but not reviewed

The post Bloggiesta Starting Line! appeared first on Doing Dewey.

The Monster Reviewathon
Aug 26th-Sept 1st 
I only found out about The Monster Reviewathon today, but I think it’s exactly what I needed! I’ve been ahead on reading and behind on writing a review for a while, a problem that the recent read-a-thon only increased. So for the next week, I will have to keep reading for some scheduled reviews coming up, but I’m going to try to do a lot of catching up on reviews. (Goal: review 10 books).

Classics Retold
September

As I discussed in my Monday Musing, I love re-tellings, so I was incredibly excited to find the Classics Retold event going on this September. Each blogger picks a classic from one of five categories and reads both the original and three modern adaptations. I’m doing The Count of Monte Cristo and I can’t wait to get started! I’ve always loved the movie and I’m sure the book will be even better.
September Read-a-Longs

I haven’t ever done a read-a-long before because I’ve been dubious about the idea of reading a book on a schedule. I’m not sure I’ll like not being able to just keep going once I get started! However, I’ve really gotten into the social aspects of blogging lately and two read-a-longs were happening for books I’ve been interested in, so I decided to give it a go. The first is a read-a-long of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead hosted by Allison at The Book Wheel. The second is a read-a-long of The Book Thief hosted by Suey at It’s All About Books. Let me know if you’re joining in!

The post Bookish Blogging Events appeared first on Doing Dewey.

Monday:
Number of pages read: 49
Books I read from: MWF Seeking BFF
Number of books finished: 0

Tuesday
Number of pages read: 505
Books I read from: MWF Seeking BFF, The Dashwood Sisters’ Secrets of Love
Number of books finished: 2

Wednesday
Number of pages read: 25 + 2 hours of movie
Books I read from: The Sports Gene
Movies watched: Sense and Sensibility
Number of books finished: 0

Thursday

Number of pages read: 57
Books I read from: The Sports Gene
Number of books finished: 0

Friday

Number of pages read: 270
Books I read from: The Sports Gene
Number of books finished: 1

Saturday

Number of pages read: 14
Books I read from: The Portrait of Dorian Gray
Number of books finished: 0

Sunday

Number of pages read: 218
Books I read from: The Portrait of Dorian Gray
Number of books finished: 1

Total

Total number of pages read: 1138
Total number of books I’ve read: 4

The post Bout of Books Check-Up appeared first on Doing Dewey.

Summer Lovin’ Read-a-Thon

This Greece themed read-a-thon includes daily author features, participation posts, and giveaways. Plus some awesome grand prize packs!

Shirley You Jest Book Awards: May 20th – July 22nd

This book award event is a great opportunity for authors, since the prizes are all publicity based and includes things like blogger reviews. As you might guess from the title, the awards are for books that “deliver the funny” in both a fiction and non-fiction category. Entry requirements are listed here.

Mini Bloggeista: July 20th – 21st

A shorter version of the twice yearly bloggeista, this event still provides a chance to spruce up your blog while interacting with other bloggers. There will be twitter chats and contests and good times will be had by all.

Classics Retold Month: September

For Classics Retold Month, each participant signs up to read a classic and at least two adaptations. Up to four bloggers can work on one classics and bloggers who want to do more than one classic are encouraged to do guest posts. Classics are divided into five categories and sign-ups for each category are hosted by the following bloggers:

• 19th Century and Gothic Classics: Bookish Whimsy
• Children’s Classics: The Cheap Reader
• Ancient to Renaissance Literature: Books Take You Places
• Mythology: The Book Addicts Guide
• American and Miscellaneous Classics: Excellent Library

The post More Great Book Blogging Events appeared first on Doing Dewey.

Shirley You Jest Book Awards: May 20th – July 22nd

This book award event is a great opportunity for authors, since the prizes are all publicity based and includes things like blogger reviews. As you might guess from the title, the awards are for books that “deliver the funny” in both a fiction and non-fiction category. Entry requirements are listed here.

Armchair BEA: May 27th – June 2nd

This online event corresponds to the Book Expo America conference in NYC. It’s a way for bloggers who don’t make it to the actual event to get to know each other by sharing prompt-inspired posts; having twitter meet-up; and commenting on each others blogs. Also includes giveaways. Sign-ups are here.

Classics Retold Month: September

For Classics Retold Month, each participant signs up to read a classic and at least two adaptations. Up to four bloggers can work on one classics and bloggers who want to do more than one classic are encouraged to do guest posts. Classics are divided into five categories and sign-ups for each category are hosted by the following bloggers:

• 19th Century and Gothic Classics: Bookish Whimsy
• Children’s Classics: The Cheap Reader
• Ancient to Renaissance Literature: Books Take You Places
• Mythology: The Book Addicts Guide
• American and Miscellaneous Classics: Excellent Library

The post Book Blogging Events appeared first on Doing Dewey.