June 14, 2013

Introducing the Summer Series Challenge


 I'm a little late to this, but better late than never, right?

The Summer Series challenge is hosted by the lovely ladies Lauren (Love is Not a Triangle), Heather (The Flyleaf Review), and Asheley (Into the Hall of Books). The information below is taken from Lauren's explanatory post.


Summer Series Challenge Objectives:

 1. Complete finished series that you've started but have yet to go back to. 
 2. Read a finished* series in its entirety.

Summer Series Challenge Rules:

  1. The Summer Series Challenge begins June 1 and runs through August 31. Books must be read or listened to within that time. We will count audiobooks.
  2. Anyone can join the challenge, but you need to have some place that you can publish reviews in English – blog, Goodreads, Amazon etc. - for your reading to be counted towards the giveaways.
  3. Although there are no genre restrictions on the books you choose, they have to be part of a series. That means no standalones.
  4. Companion books in a series will be counted. For instance Simone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry series or Miranda Kenneally's Hundred Oaks series are fine. 
  5. The purpose of this challenge is to encourage readers to finish completed series.  That means the series you choose need to be fully published. You cannot count debut series that only have one book released.*  
*We will make an exception for unfinished series that have at least 3 books released.  For instance, Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series has 4 books released though 6 are planned, so those books would count. 

 

I've complained about made the frequent observation that so many YA books are part of series. It makes it hard to keep up with all of them, honestly! 

At first I wasn't sure whether I wanted to devote my entire summer to series, but this challenge is flexible enough that that isn't really an issue. I'll still read a mix of series and standalones this summer, but this challenge will help give me some encouragement to start and finish some series I've been planning on reading for a while! 


My Goals:


Series to Finish:

Anna by Kendare Blake
  • Read: Anna Dressed in Blood (my review) 
  • To Read: Girl of Nightmares
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand 
  • Read: Unearthly (my review coming this Sunday)
  • To Read: Hallowed, Boundless
Jessica Darling by Megan McCafferty 
  • Read: Sloppy Firsts (my review), Second Helpings (my review) 
  • To Read: Charmed Thirds, Fourth Comings, Perfect Fifths

 Full series to read: 

 Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta 
  • Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles, Quintana of Charyn 
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
  • Dairy Queen, The Off Season, Front and Center 

These are more potential goals than anything else, really: other series may come up, I may lose interest in certain series, I just may not get around to actually finishing series. But I'm okay with that. I just want to have the opportunity to read a lot of books for me this summer, series or otherwise!

If you're interested in participating in the Summer Series Challenge, you can find out more information here.
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Amanda

Amanda loves few things better than sitting down with a cup of tea and a book. She frequently stays up far too late, telling herself she just needs to finish one more page. When she's not wrapped up in the stories of others, Amanda works as a children's librarian in a public library.

14 comments:

  1. Good luck!! It's never too late to start a reading challenge! :)

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    1. Thanks, Angie! And you're right - it never is. :)

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  2. I can't wait to see what you think of JD, Lumatere, and DQ - all are some of my faves and I hope you love them! :D

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    1. I hope so too! Looking forward to reading them. :)

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  3. I love Jessica Darling. She's one of my all-time favorite characters. The first two books are my favorites, but I adore the whole series. I've heard great things about the Lumatere series, but haven't read any of them. Good luck with your challenge!

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    1. She is a great character so far - I hope my enjoyment of her stories only improves going forward! And I did enjoy Finnikin and I've enjoyed Marchetta's Jellicoe Road as well, so I'm banking on loving the series as a whole. Thanks, Natalie!

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  4. Jessica Darling is on my list to read in full this summer. hope I can handle her in such a large dose! I also need to finish the Anna Dressed in Blood series. And I hope you fall in love with The Lumatere Chronicles!!!! One of my faves forever. Keertana has raved about the Dairy Queen series, so I'd like to read them at some point as well. So glad you've joined!!

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    1. My suggestion would be to split up those readings maybe. I plan on reading book three, reading a different book or two, then moving on to book four, then repeating the process. Unless I just can't stop reading her story - we'll see. And thanks Lauren, glad I decided to join! :)

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  5. This is a great idea! I can't believe how many series I have started that still remain unfinished (mostly because the other books aren't out yet). It does suck that there are so many YA series and not enough stand alones. Good luck!

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    1. Ugh YA series are the WORST. I mean, not really. But there are just far too many of them that I want to read, and then there's the commitment of reading multiple books for that series. I hope I can be productive and knock off some series this summer. Fingers crossed! Thanks, Cort!

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  6. Ooh -- I'm also going to try to finish the Lumatere Chronicles and Jessica Darling this summer too! Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. I'll look forward to reading your thoughts on them and comparing them to my own! Good luck reading them. :)

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  7. Oh my gosh, I am so excited to see what you think of The Lumatere Chronicles because I am over the moon about that series! And I love that you picked the Dairy Queen series too! I have only read the first book but own the second. I think DQ is a total gem, and vastly under appreciated. Anxious to hear your thoughts!

    So happy you are joining in Amanda! Can't wait for your reviews!

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    1. Yeah I already read Finnikin once, so I am not sure if that counts, but I am super excited to read Froi and Quintana! I love me a solid high fantasy series. :) And yup that's what I've heard about DQ as well.
      Thanks, Heather! Me either!

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