I’m always amazed at how many people turn out for Fall Into Reading. In less than a week, we’re up to more than 200 participants! That’s fantastic! I just love seeing fellow readers and book-lovers sharing their reading goals. I won’t tell you how many books I’ve added to my wish list and my “think about it” list at Amazon.com — mostly because I’ve lost track! But trust me, it’s a lot.

I’ve managed to visit the first 100 participants, and there is such a variety — in the genres of books, the length of the lists, and the background of the bloggers. The posts have been fun to read! If you haven’t had a chance to visit around, I encourage you to do so. You just might make some new bloggy friends.

I’m also pleased to announce that Fall Into Reading 2009 is doing a good job of demolishing the reading slump I found myself in this summer. And when I say reading slump, I mean that I regularly went days and days without reading a single page in any book. Very out of character for me. With my Fall Into Reading List, I figured that I needed to read an average of 30 pages per day to get through every book, so I set that as my personal goal. I’ve had two days since the start of the challenge where I didn’t quite meet that goal, but I’ve also had a few days where I read well over 100 pages, so I’m definitely on track, and I’m enjoying all the reading I’ve been doing.

Finally, I wanted to share one quick Fall Into Reading story with you. Sandra, who blogs at Musings of a Book Addict, has taken Fall Into Reading to a whole new level. Yes, she’s participating in the challenge personally. But Sandra is a teacher, and so she shared about the challenge with her school students, and even invited them to help her decide how many books she would read for the challenge (it turned out to be 85!). Sandra then encouraged the students to also set some reading goals for this fall. The kids wondered if other teachers in the school would be participating, so Sandra spread the word. When all was said and done, Sandra had set up a school-wide reading challenge, providing encouragement, example, and even book giveaways! She told me that a school custodian was joining the reading fun, and that some parents who heard about it would be participating as well! How awesome is that? It just amazes me to see what a passionate love for reading can do!

I hope Fall Into Reading 2009 is off to as good a start for you as it is for me. Enjoy all your fall reading!

This post is where you can submit links to any book reviews you do for the books you’re reading as part of Fall Into Reading 2009. A few guidelines:

1. This is only for Fall Into Reading 2009 participants. If you haven’t signed up yet, please go HERE to find out what it’s all about, create your own Fall Into Reading blog post, and sign up for the fun.

2. Please link to the specific post that contains your review — not your general blog web address. Links to a general blog address / blog front page will be deleted.

3. Please limit your entries to books you’ve read this fall and have included in your Fall Into Reading post.

4. Please keep your reviews family-friendly. I realize some books may have some touchy or difficult subjects, but please keep your reviews “clean.”

5. This is completely voluntary! You are in no way required to do reviews of your books or to link them up here. (I, for one, am absolutely horrible about writing reviews!) This is just a convenient place to gather reviews, so that all those interested can check them out.

6. I think the best way to do this is to put the book name and your name in the “name” section of the Mr. Linky: something like “A Slow Burn (Katrina)”. Of course, you can do it however you want, but that will make it easy for people to decide which reviews they want to read.

While I’m sure it won’t be necessary, I reserve the right to delete links that don’t adhere to these little “rules.”

Thanks, everyone! I look forward to seeing the reviews!

Welcome to Fall Into Reading 2009! Don’t tell my husband, but I’ve blocked off all of today to sip coffee, read your posts, and get started on working through my own reading list. I hope you’re ready to read, too!

I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on everyone’s reading lists this fall, and finding some new and irresistible books to add to my TBR (to-be-read) pile.

Whatever you’re reading for this challenge, I hope you enjoy each and every book!

Here’s a brief recap of how to be a part of Fall Into Reading 2009:

• Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like. (Also, feel free to modify your list during the challenge if it’s not working for you.)

• Write a blog post containing your list and submit it to this post using the Mr. Linky below.

• Get reading! The challenge goes from today, September 22nd, through December 20th.

• Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile!

• Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you. But remember: this is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this fall (and enjoy it!), that’s good enough for me.

There’s a Mr. Linky at the end of this post. Please use it to link to your blog post containing your Fall Into Reading list. Remember to link to your specific post, not just your general blog homepage. People will be stopping by for days (or weeks!) and when you link to your specific post, it will make it easier for everyone to find your reading list. Also, if you don’t mind, please link back here from your post so that your readers can come check out all the other participants.

So post your list, grab a mug of your favorite autumn beverage, and check out all the other bloggers who love to read as much as you do!

For more information about Fall Into Reading 2009, check out these previous posts:

• The Basics
• Posting Guidelines
• Prizes & Giveaways

Note: There is NO limit to when people can sign up to participate in Fall Into Reading 2009. You’re welcome to join in any time between now and December! The “deadlines” mentioned in the prize/giveaways post are only for prize eligibility.

Watch for a Fall Into Reading 2009 Reviews post, which I’ll put up Thursday. It will provide a place where you can link up to any reviews you write about your Fall Into Reading books. (And the review thing? Completely optional.)

That should cover all the details. Link up below and let’s get reading!

Was your link deleted? Check the Posting Guidelines to make sure you followed the rules. If you think your link was deleted by mistake, feel free to contact me.

Note: My previous issues with Mr. Linky have been resolved, so I’m going to give him another shot! Sorry for the flip-flopping!