a random mix of faith, family, and the many things that fill my mind
I am so sorry. I completely forgot that I had not yet announced the final prize-winners for Fall Into Reading 2010. Please forgive me. I’m blaming it on the stomach bug. Yes, the one from last week.
Here are the winners:
$20 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com — Elsie @ Little Sprout Growing
$10 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com — Jennifer @ Blogfulofbooks
Moleskine Book Journal — Liz @ Discovering Liz
Congratulations, all!
The tree is up and decorated, the stockings are hung by the fireplace, and there’s a dusting of snow on the ground. There’s no denying it: fall has come to a close and winter is moving in. Which means, of course that Fall Into Reading 2010 has also come to a close.
I want to thank each person that participated in this year’s challenge. Many of you answered the weekly reading questions or checked in to occasionally keep me posted on your reading progress over the last three months. You made this season of reading extra fun for me!
As we wrap things up, I just have one more thing to ask. Would you please write a final wrap-up post, letting all of us know how Fall Into Reading 2010 went for you? I would love if you’d take the time to write a final post and link to it using the Mr. Linky below.
Last week, 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.
And don’t forget…there are still two Amazon.com gift certificates ($20 & $10) and a Moleskine Book Journal 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!
I just realized that I thought Fall Into Reading 2010 ended on December 21st, but after looking back over the blog posts — you know, the ones that I wrote – I see that it actually ends on December 20th. Which is Monday. Which means I have one fewer day to finish this final book than I thought I did.
I better keep reading!
However, I won’t be posting up the final wrap-up post (complete with a Mr. Linky to collect your links) until Tuesday, December 21st. So I can read right up until midnight on the 20th, and hopefully finish things up.
I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone did on their personal goals! I hope you will take time to write a post letting us all know how Fall Into Reading 2010 went for you. Once you have your post written and posted on your blog, you can come here next Tuesday and add your link to the Mr. Linky I’ll have ready.
I don’t have any specific requirements for your wrap-up post. Feel free to just ramble about your fall reading experiences — that works for me! (And I admit, I tend to ramble, too.) But if you like a little more structure or direction, here are some questions that can help guide your post. (Remember — these are just suggestions and are optional. You can approach your wrap-up post in whatever way works for you!)
The official wrap-up post and Mr. Linky will go live next Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. EST. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
And don’t forget — you only have a few days left to see if you can finish your Fall Into Reading books!
If you came back this week to see what the reading question is, I hope that means you have chosen to overlook the fact that I occasionally read the end of a book before I actually get there. A few of you can identify with this little activity, but many were adamant that they would never do such a thing.
Even my husband called me — from an out-of-town business trip — to let me know that he had read my blog post and that never, under any circumstances, would he ever read the end of a book before he got to that point fair and square.
Clearly, some people have strong opinions on this topic.
But let’s move on to our final reading question of Fall Into Reading 2010. Actually, I couldn’t decide what the final question would be. I had a few on my original list that I hadn’t gotten to, so I decided that I’ll make it a bit of a free-for-all this week.
So, for our final question(s), choose one or more of the questions below to answer. Your pick!
Because I can’t help myself, I’ll answer them all. And I’ll attempt to make it brief not too horribly long!
1. Yes, I write in some of my books. Usually just non-fiction, and usually just under-lining or putting little asterisks next to thoughts I want to revisit or remember. There’s only one fiction book I can recall writing in — Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. And I only did it because some of her phrases were too inspiring/beautiful/well-written to ignore. (Even if, in my opinion, the book was a bit…er…slow.)
2. No, but I so wish I could! As a kid and teenager, I would start reading as soon as our family climbed in the car for any extensive trip. But now…a few minutes of reading, and carsickness sets in. Yuck. So no reading. I sometimes resort to audiobooks, though, which can be a rather enjoyable family activity.
3. Yes. I got my love for reading from my mom, and I was delighted when I discovered that my husband, Chad, loves to read as much as I do. Our kids are big readers too, and one of my favorite things is when all four of us are reading our books at the same time. It’s perfect!
4. I would say about a month. It doesn’t happen often at all — reading is too much of an ingrained and dearly-loved habit — but every once in a while I’ll hit a reading slump. Oh, I’ll skim the occasional magazine article or read the back of a cereal box. But real reading falls by the wayside. Usually it’s just a day or two, maybe a week. But there have been a few times when the reading slump has been more extended.
What about you? Answer in the comments or link to a post – let me know your thoughts on one or more of the questions above!
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Before I set this post to publish, I want to sincerely thank all of you who have participated in these weekly questions. I’ve loved learning about your reading habits, quirks, history, and opinions! It’s been so fun to incorporate these little get-to-know-you posts as part of Fall Into Reading 2010. Thanks for making it work!
I see we have plenty of one-book-at-a-time readers out there, though several of you (like me) prefer to keep several going — or just can’t keep yourselves from reaching for yet another book!
This week’s question was inspired by my childhood fiction-reading habits…
Do you ever read the end of a book before you actually get there? Have you sneaked a peek at the last page or two to find out what happens? Or do you faithfully avoid the final pages until you’ve “earned” them by reading to that point?
As a kid and teenager, I was forever reading the last few pages of a book while I was still only halfway through the story. I justified it in a variety of ways. Maybe the book was too stressful and I just “needed” to reassure myself that the good guys would win. Or maybe one character was irritating me to no end and I “needed” to know that he/she was not going to be around for the entire novel. Or perhaps I just wanted to confirm my suspicion that Girl A and Boy E would be “going steady” by the book’s end.
No matter my reason, the fact remained: I regularly cheated by reading the end of a story long before I actually got there.
These days, I’m much better at patiently reading my way to the end without skipping ahead for a little “preview” — even when it comes to intense mysteries or heart-pounding thrillers. I prefer to take a no-spoilers approach to my fiction reading.
I will admit, though, that I still occasionally skip to the end, but only in books that I’m thisclose to quitting. If a book is incredibly boring, or has a far-too-predictable plot, or is seriously bothering me due to content or style, I’ll sometimes check out the last chapter, just to see if continuing to read is going to be worth it. I would estimate this happens about 2 or 3 times every year — not often…but it still happens.
Am I alone in this? And will you still like me, now that you know about this bad habit?
Do you or have you ever read the end of a book while you were still in the middle of it?
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