...a book by its cover...

I am thick in the middle of my online book group's, Bibliophile, summer reading challenge. You may remember that I participated in the last summer challenge, skipped the winter challenge, and am back on board. The last challenge I was a part of was very fun and extremely motivating.

Here is the summer challenge this year:

Here are the rules:

1. Read 3 BOTM books from June-August and MUST participate in one of the books' discussions (could be any three books from these three months). *NOTE: If you participate in ALL of the books’ discussions, you will receive an extra raffle entry*
2. Read a book that has a summer theme in the title (For example, Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire).
3. Read a book that has ONE of the sundae colors on the cover: brown, yellow, and pink.
4. There are many adventures during the summer. Read a book tagged “adventure” (go to the "Books" tab on top, click on tags, and then click on "adventure" to view the books).
5. Read a book that’s a Bibliophile member’s favorite.

This equals a total of 7 books for the Summer!
*Reminder, books can only be used for one category!

The challenge begins June 1st and ends August 31st. Members that complete the challenge will be entered into a raffle to win one of three prices:
First price- $30 from Amazon
Second price- $20 gift card to Amazon
Third price- a book of your choice under $10.

*Note: the first 3-5 (depending on how many participate) people to finish the challenge will be entered for the 1st place price. The people that don't win the first price will then be entered for the 2nd place price along with the next 3-5 people. Everyone (except those that already won) will be entered for the third place price.*

In order to get credit for the books read, the participant MUST write a review under this thread and indicate which number of the challenge was read. I will keep track of everyone who participates.

MINI CHALLENGES:
Mini Challenge #1-Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover: Read a book that only got your attention because of its cover. (ends June 23rd)
Mini Challenge #2-21st Century: Read a book from the list of "100 Best Books of the 21st Century" from Avery on the Airwaves.
http://averyontheairwaves.blogspot.com/p/100-best-books-of-21st-century.html (ends July 5th)

Isn't that fun?! The Mini Challenge #1 was such a cute idea, I thought! Unfortunately, judging a book by its cover is the MAIN way I buy books with which I am unfamiliar. I judge the title, the font, the picture (if there is one), the length and the description on the back (I am almost exclusive to trade paperbacks).

So, for the challenge's host, Vonnie, to instruct me to read a book I chose for its cover ... well, that is practically my whole library! haha I missed seeing the challenge until today, giving me only a few days to

read, so I agonized a bit over which book to choose. As I was perusing my collection, I ran across "Christmas at Harrington's", whose cover shows a woman in a red and white coat window shopping as snow falls. <sigh> Because it is the dead of summer here, I felt so refreshed just looking at the cover. That is the book I am reading!

I'll keep you updated on which books I have read for the challenge in my next few posts!