Reminder: One Month Left...

Would you like to win a new hardcover copy of Tamora Pierce's newest short story collection, Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales?  If so, you're in luck.  There's still a month left to sign up to participate in the Tamora Tamora Pierce Reading Challenge.  You only have to read one book to qualify as long as you write some sort of wrap up when you have finished your challenge. 

For those of you who have signed up, how are you doing?  Are you going to make your goal by the end of Decemeber? 

I have three books left, Terrier, Bloodhound, and Tortall and Other Lands (on my Kindle).  Now if I can just finish them with all the other reading I have to finish by January...

A new linky will be up soon for those of you who are finished and want to write your wrap up posts. 

Tomorrow starts A Shady Glade Christmas, so don't forget to come back and check in for that. 

Happy reading everyone!

It's Coming... Call for Guest Posts!

Hello blog readers! I hope you had a fun Thanksgiving for those who celebrate. Of course, now Christmas is just around the corner. And those of you who are longtime followers know what that means:



That’s right, it’s almost time for A Shady Glade Christmas! I know I almost didn’t do it last year, but this will be my third year celebrating and I’m super excited this year. It’s a 25 day celebration about the holidays, traditions, favorite books/movies, and lots of great guest posts.

Returning this year will also be the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway where I give away 12 Christmas prizes to my blog readers. There will be a big twist on the contests this year, so I hope you enjoy them.

But this post isn’t about that. It’s about those previously mentioned guest posts. Frankly, after two years, I’m running out of things to post about. But I love reading guest posts from all of you!

We’ve had some great posts over the years about various favorite Christmas books or movies, holiday traditions, family heirlooms, and even how they celebrate Christmas in Australia.

I want YOU to participate this year. If you’ve done one in the past, we’d love to have you back again. But I’d also love to have new people. Those of you who are new blog readers or just haven’t stepped up to a do a post before. Maybe you’re a lurker, and you read the blog, but don’t comment a lot. Do a guest post! We’d love the chance to get to know you better!

As far as subject, you can pick anything as long as it’s holiday themed. Share your favorite Christmas book or movie, why you love it. What traditions do you have this time of year? Do you celebrate a different holiday other than Christmas (like Kwanzaa or Hanukkah?) Tell us about them! Don’t celebrate any holidays? What’s your favorite thing about winter? Anything goes, as long as it has something to do with this time of year.

So please, for those of you who have contributed in the past, and even more especially for those of you who haven’t, we want to read your guest posts! They don’t have to be long or fancy, just heartfelt. Okay, I didn’t want to have to bribe you, but there is also a special prize being given away for anyone who does a guest post. Only they will get a chance to win it. But it’s a secret, so I’m not telling you what the prize is yet. :)

If you are interested, send me an email at shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com (not gmail, just regular mail.com, and no spaces) with the subject you’d like to post about AND a day you want it to be posted. If you don’t care what day, at least give me a week that works for you so we can set up a deadline to get it to me. If you’re having trouble with email, please leave me a comment.

Here’s looking forward to some great entries!

Blogoversary Winners (Finally)

First of all, let me say that I am totally and completely embarrassed it has taken me so long to getting around to announcing these. I had the winners decided about a week after the blogoversary contests closed back in October, and I have just been too busy to post them. Then my computer ate the spreadsheet with everyone’s info on it… it’s been a mess all around.

Oh well, better late than never, right?

Here are the winners for all 30 prizes offered during the Blogoversary contests. Yes, the announcements are late, but the good news is you should all get your prizes in time for Christmas! Speaking of which, there will be MORE prizes up for grabs come December. But more about that later this week…

As I mentioned, I have misplaced the mailing addresses (and in some case email addresses) that everyone submitted when they entered. If you see your name in the winning cases below, please email me at shadyglade AT mail DOT com to tell me where to send your books. Also, with so many prizes, we did have a few people who won multiple things, so double check the whole list before sending yoru email.

Congrats to all the winners! Don’t forget to email me!

Lot #100: YA Mystery Box – Audrey

Lot #101: Recycled Book Purse – Marie N.

Lot #102: Paranormal/Fantasy pack – Rosie Carlo

Lot #103: Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer – Jennifer S.

Lot #104: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter – Ashley (Book Labyrinth)

Lot #105: Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl – Jennifer S.

Lot #106: Ghost set – Mary DeBorde [M.A.D.]

Lot #107: The Edge on the Sword by Rebecca Tingle – Jennifer S.

Lot #108: Babymouse, Our Hero by Matt and Jennifer Holm – Kristen H.

Lot #109: What the Dormouse Said: Lessons for Grown-ups from Children's Books by Amy Gash – Ashley (Book Labyrinth)

Lot #200: Mystery ARC box – Angie L.

Lot #201: Handmade Pumpkin Bookmark – Ashley (Book Labyrinth)

Lot #202: Tamora Pierce Prize Pack – Kristen H.

Lot #203: The Man You'll Marry by Debbie Macomber – Ashley (Book Labyrinth)

Lot #204: Letters from Rapunzel by Sara Lewis Holmes – Angie L.

Lot #205: Nicola and the Viscount by Meg Cabot – Jennifer S.

Lot #206: 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson – Mina H.

Lot #207: Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes – Robin B.

Lot #208: NERDS pack – Jasmyn

Lot #209: Ingo by Helen Dunmore – Melissa @ 1lbr

Lot #300: Graphic Novel Mystery Box – Debbie B.

Lot #301: Dark Divine Nail Polish – Trisha W.

Lot #302: History Prize Pack – Stephanie/Bookworm1858

Lot #303: Lady Grace Mysteries: Betrayal by Patricia Finney – Jasmyn

Lot #304: The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine – Jennifer S.

Lot #305: Raiders' Ransom by Emily Diamand – Lieder Madchen

Lot #306: Real Princesses: An Inside Look at the Royal Life by Valerie Wilding – Lieder Madchen

Lot #307: Pride and Prejudice Prize Pack – Melissa @ 1lbr

Lot #308: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo – Jenna

Lot #309: ARC Prize Pack #2 (Thank you again to Kristen of The Book Monsters for donating this prize!) – Lieder Madchen

Need Book Recommendations

Hello Readers! 

Okay, so I know I've been super bad about updating lately.  Let's just leave it at life has been crazier than I thought and all my free time has been completely used before I have time for blogging.  But hopefully that will be remedied soon!  In the meantime, I'm getting ready for special event in December (more info on that as it gets closer). 

Which brings me to the reason for this post.  I am looking for book recommendations for the holidays.  What is your favorite Christmas/other holiday/winter book? (or books if you have more than one favorite)  They can be any age, picture books, novels, anthologies, adult, teen, anything.  Please leave your suggestions in the comments or send me an email at shadyglade(AT)mail(DOT)com. 

Thanks!  You'll be really helping me out!

Update on Tamora Pierce Reading Challenge

So I have some good news for some of you. A couple weeks ago some of my readers stumbled across my Tamora Pierce Reading Challenge, only to express disappointment that they had discovered it so late.

I figured why not spread the joy, so the challenge has been extended until the end of the year! Which is good for me too, since because of other commitments (*cough* Cybils *cough*) I didn’t meet my goal yet, but am on track to finish by the end of the year. The challenge will now finish on December 31, 2011.

I’ve also found a prize for us. At the end of the year, one participant in the challenge will be randomly selected to receive a brand new hardcover copy of Tortall and Other Lands: A Collection of Tales, Ms. Pierce’s new book that came out last February.

If you want to win, you need to have signed up to participate in the challenge using Mr. Linky on the original page. And if you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for?  Signups remain open for the length of the challenge.  It only takes 1 book to participate, and you can read that by January, can’t you?

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates!  I'll be busy handing out candy tonight, but for those of you who stop by, here's a little Halloween treat to entertain you for a few minutes.  My mom turned me onto this, and it is the coolest thing ever:



And here's a Thriller one (since that's a classic):



Enjoy your night!

Some new widgets in the sidebar

Hello readers! I wanted to pop in really quick and bring your attention to one of the new widgets in the blog sidebar, especially if you get these posts via feed and don’t see the actual blog very often.

Over on the right hand side, I’ve added a widget for my “currently reading” shelf on Goodreads. This is for two reasons. One, I’ve wanted to put up a currently reading thing for a while, but wasn’t sure of the best way to do it since I often read multiple books at one time. The second reason is that while the Cybils awards get underway for this year, I find myself spending more time reading and less on the internet as I’m fulfilling my judging responsibilities. So review frequency (as well as frequency of other posts) can slow down this time of year. So this at least will show a record of what I’m reading, even if I’m too busy to post about it at the time.

The other widget I’ve had up for a while that you may or may not have noticed, is my 2011 Goodreads Reading Challenge one. It’s also on the right side, although down a bit. I challenged myself to read 160 books during 2011. Right now I’m sitting at about 115. It’s a good thing it’s Cybils season, because I am obviously behind. Do you think I can read 45 books by the end of the year? I guess we’ll see.

By the way, if anyone wants to friend me on Goodreads, feel free. I don’t post a lot of my reviews there, but I give lots of “status” comments on my currently reading shelf, and I do usually rate the books at least.

By the way, the winners of the blogoversary contest WILL be posted soon. I’ve been having some trouble getting the list extracted from my buggy computer. But it will be coming soon, I promise!

Secret Santa HELP!

Halloween is in a couple of days, and as hard as it is to get my head around it, that means Christmas is just around the corner.

One of my very favorite things to do during the holidays is to particpate in Secret Santa exchanges with other book lovers/bloggers. Usually I do about 3 exchanges, but this year, I've only found one, hosted by Kate and Kristen at The Book Monsters. It's made me kind of sad because I really do enjoy doing the exchanges...

So I'm hoping you can all help me out. Are you participating in book/blogger Secret Santa this year? Are the signups still open? Leave me a link in the comments. Help me spread a little holiday cheer!

What do you think?

One of my goals for the rest of this year (call it an early New Year’s Resolution if you will) is to get back into doing reviews on the blog. These used to be my prime focus, and I’ve kind of neglected them in the last little stretch of my blogging activities.

There are many reasons why this happened, but this is the main one. I really have been writing reviews, despite the fact that my blog sometimes shows otherwise. :) Most of my reviews have been written for publication in Sacramento Book Review, a local review newspaper that I review. Originally when I started the reviews were only to be used by the publications themselves, but recently the owners gave permission for us to repost our reviews in other place. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the reviews were taken down by Amazon.com and that the site’s servers lost most of the archived reviews in a recent move.

So here’s a question for you, my blog readers. Would you like me to repost some of my SBR reviews? Just to keep things fresh and moving while I’m busy with other projects. I do have to warn you, we’re constrained to 200 words, so some of them are a little shorter than my normal reviews.

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks!

Something Else I've Been Working On...

Okay readers, things are almost back to normal, I promise. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret. One of the (many) reasons I’ve been lacking in my blogging lately is because I’m working on a new blog.

Yeah, you read that right. A new blog.

Don’t worry, it won’t interfere with this one. I’m still going to talk about all things book related here. But lately, I’ve been wanting more and more to talk about movies that I watch too. So the new blog is going to be a movie blog. And I’m almost done setting it up.

The problem is, I suck at coming up with names. Does anyone have any good ideas for me?

So now what?

Well, it's been a busy summer for me.  You may have noticed I've been a little quiet lately.  With the 2011 YA Bloggers Book Battle and the 5th Blogoversary both behind me, it's been a good time to take a step back and refelct a bit. 

Don't worry though, things are still happening.  I've been working on a few things behind the scenes, some of which you should be hearing about in the next few days.  Some are blog-related, and some are side projects that are keeping me away from the computer.  I'm also looking forward to Decemeber, which hopefully will be the next big project I'm doing on the blog.  I'm big project worn out! 

I'm going to try to keep blogging while I work behind the scenes, but posts will probably be shorter and more random.  Because I've found that's how I get when I'm busy.  In the meantime, I'm also tallying up winners for the 5th Blogoversary giveaway, so keep an eye out for that post, hopefully in the next week.  That way I can start sending out all of those 30 prizes!

Help a Classroom in Need!

I had an online aquantance reach out to me regarding getting books for her 5th grade daughter's classroom.  The teacher wants to get new books for a reading group but the school doesn't have the budget for the new books. 

So I'm trying to help her out.  If you have any of the books listed below, any condition (new or used), any format (hardcover or paperback) and you would be willing to donate them, please send me an email at shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com to let me know. 

You'll be helping kids get great books in their hands.  Can't think of a better way to do a good deed.  :)

Needed Books:
A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla, Jim Burke (Illustrator)

The Black Pearl by Scott O'Dell

The BFG by Roald Dahl

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Random 5th Blogoversary Giveaway

What's this you say?  Another 5th Blogoversary Giveaway?  But haven't we already had one? 

The answer to all of those questions is yes.  But due to some issues with the form and registration, I've admitted defeat and decided to do the giveaway a different way.  While the silent auction format was a good idea, it didn't work as well in execution as it did in planning.  Mostly because everyone was bidding on the same prizes.  So due to the fact that so many prizes went unclaimed, I am reformatting the contest, and extending it until the end of the week. 

Here's how the new contest will work.  For every prize that has not had any "bidders" (or has only 1 bidder with a 1 point bid), I will be re-offering the prizes up for grabs.  EVERYONE can enter this contest, and prizes will be awarded by random.org.  All you have to do is pick which prizes you want to enter for.  Easy, right?  So if you didn't enter before, I strongly encourage you to do so now.  Yes, you at the computer.  You know you want free books, right?

This (new) contest will be open until 11:59 pm on Friday, October 14.  To enter, simply fill out the Google form found at the end of the post.  Or you can email me your entries at shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com.  Of course, if you prefer to enter the old way, the forms are still open on this page.  It's a great way to increase your chances at winning a particular prize.  Otherwise, prizes are going to be awarded randomly. As before, this giveaway is open internationally.

Here is a recap of the prizes that have been reshuffled for this giveaway.  If you'd more information on these prizes, you can check out the original prize posts (one, two, and three).  Scoll all the way to the bottom for the entry form, or follow this link. 

Prizes still up for grabs:

Paranormal/Fantasy pack
Dragon's Bait by Vivian Vande Velde and Sunshine by Robin McKinley.

Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl

Ghost set
The House Next Door by Richie Tankersley Cusick and Time Windows by Kathryn Reiss

The Edge on the Sword by Rebecca Tingle

Babymouse, Our Hero by Matt and Jennifer Holm

Handmade Pumpkin Bookmark

Tamora Pierce Prize Pack
A whole box of assorted Tamora Pierce books (Tortall books only)

The Man You'll Marry by Debbie Macomber

Nicola and the Viscount by Meg Cabot

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes

NERDS pack
NERDS (National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society), and the second book, M is for Mama's Boy, both by Michael Buckley

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Graphic Novel Mystery Box
A box full of new/like new graphic novels for you to enjoy

Dark Divine Nail Polish
Two bottles, one for you and one for a friend

History Prize Pack
Historical Tweets by Alan Beard and Alec McNayr and Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis

Lady Grace Mysteries: Betrayal by Patricia Finney

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Pride and Prejudice Prize Pack
Mr. Darcy's Dream and The True Darcy Spirit by Elizabeth Aston (both sequels to Pride and Prejudice) and a copy of Darcy's Story by Janet Aylmer (Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy's point of view)

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Need a New Template

I'm looking for a new blog template... not for this blog though, a different one. ;) Those of you who are bloggers, do you have any ones you've used that you've particular loved? I would prefer free or relatively cheap, since I don't have a huge budget. Oh, and relatively easy to use since I can find my way around a computer, but the programmer in the family is my brother.  I prefer ready to use templates, but if you know of somewhere that has great backgrounds I could always use those too.

If you could leave any suggestions for me in the comments, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

5th Blogoversary Giveaway Extravaganza: Place Your Bids!

Hello everyone!  This is the culmination of everything we've celebrated for the last few months, the 5th Blogoversary Giveaway Extravaganza!  Here is where I am giving away 30 prizes to you, my blog readers.  Cuz prizes are the best part of any birthday.  :)

Before we go any further, if you have not completed registration, STOP!  Go do it.  You cannot win anything before completing that first.   UPDATE 10/9/11: Remaining prizes are being given away randomly through October 14th.  Check out this updated post to enter.  Or continue to enter the old way below. 

So here's how things will work.  As I mentioned in the beginning of September, this will work in a silent auction style, with a slightly modified format.  At the end of this form will be 3 Google forms, one for each set of "lots" (aka prizes).  Fill in your name and email address.  Using the number of points you totaled up in registration, you can then "bid" these points on each prize that you wish.  There is one slot for each prize. 

For example: Say you earned 30 points.  You have 30 points to spend.  You really want Lot #201, so you bid 10 points.  You have 20 left.  So you bid 5 points on Lot #309, 3 points on Lot #107, 1 point on Lot #100, and 1 point on Lot #206.  There's your 30 points.  You can bid as much or as little on any combination of lots. 

The person who bids the highest number of points for each lot will win that prize.  In the case of a tie (say 2 people bid 10 points on the same thing) then the winner between those who tied will be picked by random.org. 

Rules:

• You must be registered to bid
• Auctions will be open from now until 11:59 pm PDT on Saturday October 8th
• All prizes are open internationally
• You must provide either your mailing address or country of residence (if you don't want to give your address unless you win)
• You cannot bid more than the points you earned in registration

Any questions/problems?  Let me know and I will update this post as need be.  Otherwise, the forms you need to enter are linked below. 

Good luck!

Lots 100-109 Bidding form (Preview of these prizes found here)
Lots 200-209 Bidding form (Preview of these prizes found here
Lots 300-309 Bidding form (Preview of these prizes found here)

One Last Reminder

Remember that the (slightly modified) silent auction Blogoversary Extravaganza opens tomorrow (Oct 5th).  If you haven't already, remember to register so that you can start "bidding" with your earned points tomorrow.  Registration must be completed first before you can win any of the 30 prizes. 

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.  Otherwise, see you tomorrow!

Update on Amazon Associates

As I announced earlier this summer, due to a new California law Amazon discontinued it's Amazon Associates program. So although I was no longer participating, I still had the notice on my blog, simply because I couldn't figure out how to remove it. 

Today I found out that this law was recently appealed, and Amazon has continued the Associates program for California residents.  So you can consider the disclaimer notice on the blog to be in effect once more.  I will be reinstating the missing Amazon links over the next few weeks. 

Just FYI.  :)

Challenge Deadline Reminder!

Don't forget, today is the last day to complete any of the Blogoversary Challenges for extra points at registration!  The roundup post has links to all the challenges you can still complete. 

Blogoversary Extravaganza: Registration Open

Well, it is now officially October 2nd, which means registration for the 5th Blogoversary Extravaganza is now open!  Remember, you must complete registration in order to win prizes starting October 5th!


For those of you who want a refresher of how this will work, here you go.  30 prizes are being given away starting October 5th.  (Prize preview posts here: one, two, and three).  The giveaway is being conducted in a silent auction style, which means you will "bid" for the prizes using points you have earned throughout the blogoversary.

The purpose of registration is to help me know how many points everyone has.  This way I can keep track of your bids and make sure that no one bids over their limit.  After completing registration, you will know how many points you have to spend come October 5th.

If you are still completing open challenges (some are open until 11:59 on October 3rd), the please wait until you have submitted all your challenge entries before registering.  That way you won't have to submit more than once.  If you earned any bonus points from your entries, I will total them up and email you to let you know of the change to your point total.

To register, all you have to do is fill out the Google form using the link or entered below.  If anyone has problems, please contact me at shadyglade AT mail DOT com and we'll get you entered manually.  Any questions?  Feel free to let me know.

Good luck!

Blogoversary Challenge #12

So I figured we'd make this a round dozen of challenges. Once again, this will be another great way to rack up points to earn prizes.

October 1st is a very important day in the kid lit blogosphere. It marks the opening of the Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Literary Awards) nominations. I've been participating in the Cybils for 5 years now, so they are near and dear to my heart. But the awards wouldn't be possible without nominations, which brings me to this challenge.

Challenge Details:
Points: +1 for every nomination you submit.  There are 10 categories, and you can nominate up to 1 book per category, for a possible point total of 10 points.
Deadline: Nominations are open until Oct 15, but if you want points for this, you must submit your nominations by midnight on October 3rd
How To Enter: Head over to the Cybils page to enter your nominations.  Once you're done, come back here and leave a comment on this post with the titles of the books you nominated.