Callapidder Days

Christmas is right around the corner; snow is blanketing large chunks of the United States; and I’m curled up on the couch under a cozy afghan. Those are all signs that the Fall into Reading 2008 challenge has come to an end. Another clue is that my calender tells me today is the last day of fall.

I want to thank each person that participated in this year’s challenge. You spread the word, you posted your lists, and you shared your enthusiasm for reading — all of which made the challenge fun. And in case you weren’t watching the list, it kept growing and growing throughout the fall—we ended up with 286 participants!

Now that we’ve reached the end, I’d love to hear how the challenge went for you. I hope you’ll take the time to write a wrap-up post and link to it using the Mr. Linky below.

Last weekend, I offered some suggestions for what you might want to write in your wrap-up post, but of course, feel free to write it however you’d like. Once your post is up, come here and sign up on the Mr. Linky below. Don’t forget—include the URL to your wrap-up post, not just your general blog web address, to make it easy for people to find your post.

Also, if you have any final book reviews you’d like to post, I’ll leave the Mr. Linky on the Fall Into Reading Book Reviews post open for a few more days. (There are already more than 500 reviews up, so that post is a great resource if you’re trying to decide what to read next!)

And don’t forget…there’s still a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate up for grabs. To be eligible, please post your wrap-up post (and put it on the Mr. Linky) by midnight EST on December 24th to get your name in the drawing. I’ll announce the winner a few days after Christmas.

Thanks again to all the participants. I’ve enjoyed reading with you!

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I have to admit, I didn’t do nearly as well this time around as I thought I would. Surprisingly, a few of my fiction books every remained unread, which has never happened to me during a challenge. But rather than ramble on, I’ll use a few of my suggested questions to let you know how Fall Into Reading 2008 went for me.

Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list? If not, why not?

Sadly, no. I read almost-4 out of the 5 nonfiction books I selected (I’m almost done with Write Away and I haven’t even touched How Doctors Think), and I only read 5 out of the 7 fiction books I picked (I haven’t read Pride & Prejudice or Violet Dawn yet). You can click over to my original list to see which books I did manage to cross off.

So why didn’t I finish all my books? In part, because my kids and I had illness after illness for a while, and I just didn’t have the energy to hold up a book some nights. (During those times, I relied on my iPod to “read” a couple audiobooks to me, which weren’t on my original list.) And in part, because I didn’t set aside enough extra time for reading. I read before bed, as always, but didn’t set aside much time during the day for additional reading, which is what I need to do if I intend to finish one book per week.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

I left my original list the same, but I listened to 3 audiobooks that weren’t on the list and I read an extra novel or two for blog tours.

What was your favorite book that you read this fall? Least favorite? Why?

My favorite: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. This book is just incredible. I very rarely read memoirs or books on history, but since I already knew much of Corrie’s story and had read parts of the book before, I wanted to give it a try and am so glad I did. The book — which portrays unshakable faith, inspiring hope, and a God who does miracles…even in the midst of horrible and heart-wrenching world events — gave me a much-needed eternal perspective on things. It’s so easy to get caught up in my “troubles,” but reading this book made me step outside my own problems and see things much more clearly.

My least favorite: Probably Three Bags Full. This book had a lot of potential. Mystery-solving sheep? Excellent idea. And I admit the book made me laugh out loud more than once at the sheep’s antics and attitudes. But the author seemed to have an axe to grind against Christianity, God or both, and I felt that the antagonism was overdone at times and really detracted from what was otherwise a delightful and entertaining story.

Did you learn something new because of the Fall Into Reading challenge?—something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

I learned (or maybe re-learned) that it’s good to step outside my reading ruts every now and then and try something new. I read several memoir-type books this fall and enjoyed them all. I often use reading challenges to push myself to read something other than “the usual” for me, and I’m (almost) always glad I did.

What was your favorite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge?

Checking out everyone’s reading lists, and hearing from all of you a few times during the fall. I’m amazed at how much reading some people managed to get in this fall, and how disciplined many of you are at writing reviews of the books you read!

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Check out the main wrap-up post to find out how everyone else did with their reading goals this fall.

Hello, fellow readers! Christmas is almost here, and the Fall Into Reading Challenge is just about over.  I hope you’ve all enjoyed your reading, and met some (or all) of your goals for this fall.

On Saturday, December 20th, I’ll post the “official” wrap-up post for Fall Into Reading 2008. I’ll include a Mr. Linky so that you can put up a link to your personal wrap-up post (posted on your blog), letting us know how you did with your reading.

Not sure what to put in your wrap-up post? There are no real rules — we’d just like to see how the challenge went for you! But if you are someone who likes a little more structure, here are some questions you can answer as part of your wrap-up. Pick and choose whatever works for you!

• Did you finish reading all the books on your fall reading list? If not, why not?
• Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?
• What was your favorite book that you read this fall? Least favorite? Why?
• Did you discover a new author or genre this fall? Did you love them? Not love them?
• Did you learn something new because of the Fall Into Reading challenge — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?
• What was your favorite thing about the Fall Into Reading challenge?
• Would you like to participate in another challenge here this spring?

That should be enough to get your started!

So this week, amidst the Christmas decorating, wrapping, shopping, baking, and planning, try to squeeze in a little more reading. And don’t forget to write your wrap-up post! I’ll see you back here on Saturday, when we can all compare notes.

So, how is your fall reading going?

I just realized that the Fall Into Reading 2008 challenge ends in less than a month, and I am not doing very well.

Personally, I’m blaming all the illnesses that have been ravaging our house this fall. When I can’t breathe through my nose and my head is pounding, and the coughs just keep coming, I generally have no energy or motivation to hold a book up in front of my face and attempt to, you know, read the words.

At one point, I tried to convince Chad that his duty as a husband was to put his own book aside and read my Fall Into Reading books to me, but he did not look too thrilled at that prospect. So, instead, I have listened to a couple audiobooks that weren’t on my Fall Into Reading list: The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Millionaires. My iPod is always happy to read to me, and that option has been very convenient.

If you check my original list, you’ll see that I have completed several books (including, amazingly, 3 of my 5 nonfiction books), but I still have a fair amount to go. And did I mention that there’s less than one month left?

But enough about me. How are you doing? [I know a few participants are already done with their lists and I will try not to resent them for that. ]

But what about you? Are you done? Do you predict you’ll be done by December 20th? Did you completely scrap your list and start over?

Share, please.

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 2008. A few guidelines:

1. This is only for Fall Into Reading 2008 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 then go HERE to 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 on 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 “Pride & Prejudice (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!

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