What Have You Gotten Me Into?

My big sister wouldn't steer me wrong, right?  So signing up for three readathons in the next 4 months must be a good idea.  Every summer, I make myself a Summer Reading List - usually new releases with pretty covers.  Last year I chose seven books and only read four of them so, when Teri @ Henningsen Happenings challenged me to step up my reading for the summer I hesitated.  But it sounds like so much fun, that I gave in.  

The largest of the challenges is Summer Reading, hosted by Katie's Book Blog.  Summer Reading runs for four months - May 1 to Sept. 1.  You just set your own reading goal - minimum of 5 books - and read.  There are prizes throughout the summer and a grand prize drawing for those who reach their goal.  Just like being a kid at the library again!  Picking that magic number of books is the tough part.  There are 17 weeks in this challenge (+ a couple days), so I've settled on twelve as being a reasonable goal.

Read-a-thon #2 is the Bout of Books Read-a-thon, hosted by Amanda and Kelly.  BoB, as the hostesses call it, runs from May 12 through May 18, with daily challenges and giveaways, and three Twitter chats during the week.  Since that is the week that two of our children graduate from college, I'm not setting a goal other than to participate as much as my schedule allows.  

Readathon #3 is the Library Read-a-thon hosted by Rachael Turn's Pages.  During the week of June 9th-16th, read as many library books as you can.  Sounds simple.  And I usually have a stack sitting around collecting overdue fees.  The timing on this one is perfect.  All of the graduations and family reunions will be over and I'll be ready for some down time with books.

This is my starter stack.  Lighthouse Bay, The Engagements, and Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble are the three leftovers from last summer that STILL haven't been read.  The Help is on loan from a former co-worker and needs to be returned soon.  The last two, The Bookstore and The Invention of Wings, are recent purchases that I'm excited to read. There are a lot more options on my shelves, plus an excellent city library, so finding the other six books to reach my goal should be easy.

So there you have it - a summer of books with my sister.  And if it doesn't work out, I'm telling Mom!

Books Read:
1.  Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield
2.  Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman