Wednesday, November 3, 2010

ANNOUNCING...THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT READING CHALLENGE

It's that time of year again (although it may be a little early for some) and I am announcing The Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge.  I actually hosted a Christmas Reading Challenge last year through my book blog, but I changed the name this year and decided to host it over here.  I hope you will join me!

Now, on to the details and sign up:
  • challenge will run from Friday, November 26, 2010 (Black Friday) through January 6, 2010 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany).
  • cross overs with other challenges is totally permitted AND encouraged!
  • These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore or a book of Christmas short stories (sorry, no children's books, but YA novels are okay).
  • visit this POST for a list of new Christmas books for 2010.  Also, Richard Paul Evans has a new book out this year, Promise Me.  His Christmas books are among my favorites during the Christmas season.
  • Levels:
            --Candy Cane:  read 1 book
            --Mistletoe:  read 2-4 books
            --Christmas Tree:  read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)
  • Please sign up in the linky below.  On the day the challenge starts, I will post a linky for reviews.
  • Most of all, have fun!
Grab a button:



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49 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 3, 2010 at 9:25 AM

    YESSSSSSSSSSSS! Michelle's challenge is BACK! LOL!
    I Love Love Love Love Love, the Christmas blog. I will have to put this on my links, so I can visit during the season. I will spread the word on my blog!! WOOHOO!!

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  2. HeatherNovember 3, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    I was just wondering yesterday morning if you were going to do this challenge again this year. I have a ton of books to knock off the Christmas Book List.

    BTW, I *highly* recommend Tim Slover's The Christmas Chronicles. I won it from GoodReads in September and devoured it in one sitting.

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  3. BirdieNovember 3, 2010 at 11:00 AM

    Curse you! Why must you have such an interesting challenge that I find I *must* participate in? LOL

    I'll go for Mistletoe level with hopes of making it to Christmas level.

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  4. Tales of WhimsyNovember 3, 2010 at 2:44 PM

    Wahooo! Count me in!

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  5. Tales of WhimsyNovember 3, 2010 at 2:59 PM

    I put a button on my right hand side bar.

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  6. UnknownNovember 3, 2010 at 3:21 PM

    This is terrific! Thanks for letting us know, Juju!

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  7. Bev HankinsNovember 3, 2010 at 4:30 PM

    I can't resist a challenge...I'm in for Mistletoe (does this mean I'll get extra kisses this year LOL).

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  8. AnonymousNovember 3, 2010 at 5:10 PM

    Juju at Tales of Whimsy told me about this Challenge and I am so glad! I am a Christmas fanatic. Starting in OCT I start scouting the bookstores for the new Christmas books. Already have a bunch of them! Can't wait.

    Angie
    http://lemonverveinebookclub.blogspot.com/

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  9. AnonymousNovember 3, 2010 at 5:15 PM

    By the way, I love the Christmas Box series from Richard Paul Evans. I read them the week after Thanksgiving to get in the Christmas spirit. :) Angie

    http://lemonverveinebookclub.blogspot.com/

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  10. Alejandra De la FuenteNovember 3, 2010 at 5:22 PM

    Ill give it a try, though Ive never read a christmas-story novel... (thats not true if you count the short story of the match seller.. a pretty sad one indeed :( ) Ok, ill try the "candy cane" level to start... but maybe, just maybe, if i manage to get any other christmas story, ill go for the mistletoe xD

    http://letras-y-mas-letras.blogspot.com/

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  11. justpeachy36November 3, 2010 at 7:53 PM

    This will be my first Christmas Challenge...

    I'm really excited... Thanks for hosting.. I'm gonna try the Mistletoe level.

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  12. justpeachy36November 3, 2010 at 7:55 PM

    Is there any way you could add a feedburner link to your Christmas Blog... that's basically how I keep up with everything... should bring you a lot more traffic too...

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  13. Michelle Stockard MillerNovember 3, 2010 at 9:53 PM

    Busy--I so appreciate your enthusiasm! So glad you're joining me again this year!

    Heather--Glad to have you again this year! I have heard of that book by Slover. I'm actually trying to win it on Goodreads right now!

    Birdie--thanks for joining me! Sorry for enticing you with this wonderful challenge...LOL! And that level is supposed to be the Christmas Tree level...my bad!

    Juju--thanks for signing up and spreading the word! You're awesome!

    Gina--Welcome!

    Bev--Welcome...and regarding the kisses...maybe you will! =O)

    Maria--so glad you found us through Juju! She's awesome, isn't she?! The Christmas Box is one of my all time favorites!

    Alejandra--Welcome! What a great way for you to break into the Christmas book genre!

    justpeachy--Wow...you're first Christmas challenge! How exciting! Welcome! And I added the feed reader subscriber on the right sidebar.

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  14. RyanNovember 3, 2010 at 11:33 PM

    I know that you knew that you could count me in. How could I miss thig!

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  15. KimNovember 4, 2010 at 6:59 PM

    I've signed up! Thank you!

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  16. Bitsy Bling BooksNovember 4, 2010 at 11:17 PM

    So excited about holiday reading challenges! All linked up and ready to read.

    Charlie

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  17. Michelle Stockard MillerNovember 6, 2010 at 11:50 PM

    Yay...so many great people are signed up! I'm so excited!

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  18. LisaNovember 7, 2010 at 11:54 PM

    Well, I was planning on getting to Dicken's A Christmas Carol this December so it looks like the Candy Cane level will work just fine for me!

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  19. AlleluiaLuNovember 9, 2010 at 2:19 PM

    The blog looks fantastic! It gets me in the Spirit already.

    Thanks for hosting this challenge. I've been waiting all year to do another Christmas Reading Challenge!

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  20. TheBookGirlNovember 10, 2010 at 2:59 PM

    Even though I overextended myself on challenges this year (I entered 6 and will probably only finish 3 or 4 at the most), I am a total sucker for Christmas books, so I am definitely in for this one :)

    What a lovely layout for this blog...I am in the holiday spirit just looking at it!

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  21. BarbNovember 10, 2010 at 5:02 PM

    I love this idea! Thank you for hosting this! This will be my first entry. I have signed up for mistletoe level....but hope for more! I love Christmas stories!

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  22. shaunesayNovember 10, 2010 at 11:12 PM

    Yay I was hoping I'd find a Christmas challenge! Thanks for hosting!

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  23. dollycas aka LoriNovember 11, 2010 at 1:27 PM

    This sounds like so much fun and the FEDEX man brought me a perfect book today too!!!

    Too bad I had to review one already, it was hard reading it in September.

    Dollycas

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  24. KariNovember 11, 2010 at 4:06 PM

    This is one of my favorite things of the year! I have hoarded a group of books specifically for a holiday challenge! And I am aiming for Christmas Tree!!

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  25. MollyNovember 14, 2010 at 9:55 AM

    I decided earlier in the year that I wanted to develop a Christmas book collection to read (and often re-read) during each holiday season. It has grown to about a dozen books.

    I joined this challenge and had such fun that I have looked forward to joining this year since about September :)

    Thanks for hosting!

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  26. UnknownNovember 14, 2010 at 4:42 PM

    Yeah! I was hoping you would do this again. Last year I read one book and this year I hope to read two! Thanks for the list of books!

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  27. Melissa WiebeNovember 15, 2010 at 2:58 AM

    Here is my list: http://jaynesbooks.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-reading-challenge.html#comments

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  28. Eclectic Book WormNovember 16, 2010 at 10:08 PM

    Thanks for stopping by my site! Another Christmas reading challenge! I'm going to join this one as well! Thanks!

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  29. AnonymousNovember 17, 2010 at 10:14 AM

    I already know that I won't finish the challenges I signed up for in the beginning of the year. However, I am in the mood for some Christmas cozies so count me in.

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  30. DebbieNovember 19, 2010 at 10:34 AM

    WOW!! I love this blog. I will accept the challenge!
    I'm excited. I just bought two new Christmas books.

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  31. GrilsgoodNovember 21, 2010 at 10:16 PM

    I was so disappoibnted, the people at A Novel Challenge had no Christmas challenges this year and I wanted one so badly. Thank you so much.

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  32. Michelle Stockard MillerNovember 25, 2010 at 5:00 AM

    Wow...I can't believe there are 40 people signed up this year! I just got my sign up post done...down to the wire, as usual! Thank you so much to all who have signed up. I hope you get a lot of Christmas reading in and it puts you in the Christmas spirit the entire season!

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  33. Live2ReadNovember 26, 2010 at 9:33 AM

    This is my first Christmas Challenge! Thanks so much!!!

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  34. BirdieNovember 27, 2010 at 9:30 AM

    wheeeee! I gulped down my first Christmas book yesterday: http://featherednest-birdie.blogspot.com/2010/11/starting-christmas-season-right.html
    It was lovely!

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  35. Lisa (Lisa's World of Books)November 27, 2010 at 10:55 AM

    This is my first challange

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  36. BeckyNovember 28, 2010 at 6:17 PM

    I don't usually join new challenges because I'm crap at them, but this one I can definitely handle! :) I'm excited to get started. I even have a couple of review copies that will count for this, so time to get hopping!

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  37. KimNovember 29, 2010 at 4:23 AM

    What a lovely idea for a challenge and is just what I need right now. I finished putting up the Christmas decorations today and can now fully immerse myself in the Christmas spirit!
    *smiles*

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  38. BirdieNovember 29, 2010 at 2:47 PM

    Is there a place to link reviews? I am just sort of plopping mine down here XD

    http://featherednest-birdie.blogspot.com/2010/11/hercule-poirots-christmas.html

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  39. SheeryNovember 30, 2010 at 2:46 AM

    I just found your blog and reading challenge through Debbie at The Friday Friends. Firs, I am so on board for the challenge. I'll go for mistletoe level.

    Second, this blog is really beautiful. I love it already! :)

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  40. Dusky LiteratiNovember 30, 2010 at 9:26 AM

    This will make the holidays even more festive. I plan to read 4-5 books for the challenge.

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  41. Tales of WhimsyDecember 1, 2010 at 7:44 AM

    Here is a link to my entry/list:

    Tales of Whimsy Christmas :)

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  42. A Hippie's BookshelfDecember 2, 2010 at 1:12 PM

    This is going to be a wonderful seasonal treat for sure. There is nothing more wonderful than a beautiful Christmas story. I am going to enjoy this very much. I don't have a lot of Christmas books, my daughter has them all with her. So, if I buy myself anything this month, you know what I will be buying. Thanks for libraries and Netgalley, I know I will find plenty of holiday reads. :) thanks for letting me be part of something fun

    The Wytch's Mirror: A Book Blog

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  43. KetutarDecember 6, 2010 at 3:33 PM

    Starting late :-)
    But better late than never :-)

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  44. Bev HankinsDecember 11, 2010 at 10:45 PM

    Have complete my challenge (Mistletoe Level)...may keep on reading, but all my reviews may be found linked to my original post--on the linky.

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  45. AnonymousDecember 16, 2010 at 9:26 PM

    Starting late, but I'm looking forward to this challenge. Thanks for hosting.

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  46. LuDecember 19, 2010 at 8:35 PM

    I did this challenge last year, but didn't have a blog then. I think I will aim for the mistletoe level.

    I do have a question though. If a book has 3 "novellas" in it do we count them as 3 stories or count it as 1 book. One of the books I have in mind for this challenge has 2 or 3 stories in it, but each one is about 200-250 pages, so I wasn't sure if I should count each one separately. (they have been published separately, but the one I have was a special edition type thing)

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  47. LouiseDecember 28, 2010 at 6:52 AM

    I just found this challenge recently, it's a fabulous idea. I'm joining up relatively late, but have been doing a bit of reading and blogging recently that suits it perfectly. I've blogged a number of Christmas kid books- but I see you don't include those. Today I blogged my second non-kid Christmas book- Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I hope to do two more posts before the 6th January. This is the first challenge I've done, and I'm not quite sure how to list my posts, so I'll just link it here for the moment.

    http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-carol-read-along.html

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  48. AlleluiaLuJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    I love this blog and this challenge! I've read 4 books for this challenge and enjoyed them all. Here are my posts:
    http://bookendcrossing.blogspot.com/2011/01/redbird-christmas-by-fannie-flagg.html
    http://bookendcrossing.blogspot.com/2011/01/cricket-on-hearth-and-other-stories-by.html
    http://bookendcrossing.blogspot.com/2010/12/santa-in-montana-by-janet-dailey.html
    http://bookendcrossing.blogspot.com/2010/11/1-book-read-for-thankfully-reading.html

    Thanks for hosting this challenge and Happy New Year!

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  49. LouiseJanuary 5, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    I loved Augusten Burroughs' You Better Not Cry- a very nontraditional but definitely Christmasy read.

    http://astrongbeliefinwicker.blogspot.com/2010/12/post-seasonal-reading.html

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Your comments are welcome and appreciated. Blessed Be.

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