Kat with a K

Monday Happy Things - Prizes!!!

I know summer is totally way over, but I found some more SRP prizes! And hey, who doesn't like prizes? So, drawn randomly among the winners, I have prizes for:

E-liz W.
Kate B.
Kristy H.
Sara B.
Sprite

Send me your addresses, ladies!

SRP Final Standings!

Sorry for the delay, all. Here at long last is the final list of SRP winners, first by books read, then by pages read. As you can see, Tiffany is our big winner on both lists, with Nancy, Chris, and Peninah in a clump just behind. The four of them will all get prizes. (So send me your addresses, ladies!)

Over the next week or so, we'll raffle off some prizes among the other winners. So this is your last chance to tell me if your numbers look wrong or if I accidentally skipped over you or something.

74 Tiffany
60 Nancy
57 Chris
54 Peninah
33 Liz
30 Amy K.
28 Unbashdsentimnt
26 Laura P.
23 Mrspao
22 Lisa H.
21 Aisling
20 Jenny
16 Kate B., Kristy
15 Alison, E-Liz, Vickie
14 Amy M., Beadslut, Sprite
13 Christine, Colleen, Erin L., Lola
12 Jessie, Kathy, Natalie
11 Cynthia, Rita
10 Kate D.
9 Jessikah, Samantha
8 Erin G., Jen, Laura W.
7 Liza
6 Frances, Sara B.

Tiffany (23,741)
Peninah (17,731)
Nancy (17,402)
Chris (15,849)
Beadslut (10,189)
Liz (9612)
Amy K. (9416)
Laura P. (9266)
Mrspao (8313)
Lisa H. (6993)
Aisling (6712)
Unbashdsentimnt (6164)
Jenny (6042)
Colleen (5130)
E-Liz (4883)
Kate D. (4834)
Alison (4366)
Jessie (4213)
Amy M. (4202)
Kristy (4175)
Lola (4122)
Kathy (4002)
Christine (3935)
Sprite (3890)
Cynthia (3800)
Erin L. (3624)
Kate B. (3622)
Natalie (3560)
Vickie (3450)
Jessikah (3123)
Laura W. (2864)
Samantha (2858)
Liza (2511)
Jen (2453)
Erin G. (2174)
Rita (2132)
Sara B. (1936)
Frances (1211)

SRP Process Clarifications

Wheee, we're getting near the end! Exciting! As you know, the deadline for reading books to be counted is tomorrow, August 31. But I'm going to give you a grace period of one week for posting about them. So you have until September 7 to finish posting about books that you finished reading by August 31. It would be useful if, on your final review, you said something like "And this is my last book for the SRP!" so I know you're done. And if you write something like "This brings my total to x books/y pages, and I did/did not complete my bonus goal," I'd love you forever.

On September 7 and 8, I'll make sure my numbers correspond with yours and e-mail anyone from whom I need a clarification. When we're all set with that - hopefully that weekend - I'll draw the names for prizes. There are a few prizes that are geographically limited (like gift cards), so if I e-mail asking where you live, that's why.

So... you have one more day! Keep reading!!!

SRP Update!

Progress is updated. And we have excitement! Chris and Tiffany are currently tied at 50! Watch and see who wins!

Winners so far:

Main Goal:
Aisling
Amy K.
Beadslut
Chris
Christine
Colleen
Cynthia
Erin G.
Erin L.
Jen
Jenny
Jessikah
Kate B.
Kate D.
Kathy
Kristy
Laura W.
Lisa H.
Liz
Liza
Lola
Mrspao
Natalie
Peninah
Samantha
Sprite
Tiffany
Unbashdsentimnt

Bonus Goal:
Amy K.
Chris
Cynthia
Erin L.
Kate D.
Liz
Mrspao
Samantha

On a personal note, I've realized that finishing 30 by the 31st isn't going to happen, and I'm okay with that. I'm at 18 now. I probably could do it if I did nothing but read for the rest of the month, but there's too much other stuff going on right now that's asking for my time. Like finishing cat-proofing the house and catching up on Veronica Mars before the new season starts and getting ready for the new semester and learning French and taking GRE practice tests and getting started on all that Christmas knitting I've planned.

I still have my 100 books in the year goal, though, and I'm only at 38 now, so... we'll see. It should be a fun challenge.

SRP Update

Updated again! Here are the "winners" as of now:

Main Goal:
Aisling
Amy K.
Beadslut
Chris
Christine
Colleen
Cynthia
Jen
Jenny
Jessikah
Kate B.
Kate D.
Kathy
Kristy
Laura W.
Lisa H.
Liz
Liza
Lola
Mrspao
Natalie
Peninah
Samantha

Bonus Goal:
Amy K.
Chris
Cynthia
Erin L.
Kate D.
Liz
Mrspao
Samantha

Summer Reading Update

At last, a Summer Reading Program update! The progress page is updated as of today. (And I figured out a quicker way to update, so I promise updates will be more frequent over the rest of August.) Tiffany is in the lead, with Chris, Nancy, and Peninah close behind. Can anyone catch up? It'll be exciting to see!

So far, these people have reached their goals:

Aisling

Amy K.

Beadslut

Chris

Cynthia

Jen

Jenny

Kate B.

Kate D.

Kathy

Kristy

Laura W.

Lisa H.

Liz

Liza

Lola

Mrspao

Natalie

Peninah

Samantha

And these have also completed their bonus goals:

Amy K.

Chris

Cynthia

Erin L.

Kate D.

Liz

Mrspao

Samantha

The rest of us have about 16 days left. Go go go!

Summer Reading Thoughts

Yes, I still knit, but I haven't been that into it recently. Perhaps this is because it's currently 88 degrees in my apartment. Hmm. But anyway, that's why it seems like "All reading, all the time" around here recently. It will all balance out in the end, I promise.

A few Summer Reading Program notes: Yes, you can count audiobooks if you want to. Personally, I feel like audiobooks provide a completely different (and non-reading) experience, but I know not everyone agrees. So if you feel like you've read a book after listening to the audiobook, go ahead and count it.

Also, I wanted to make sure everyone knows that you can find everyone's progress, and the top ten number of books and pages, here. (The Summer Reading Program link at the top of the page goes there, too.) So far, Chris is leading both lists with nine books and 2379 pages. Everything should be up to date as of this afternoon, so if your link is wrong or I seem to be missing your reviews or something, let me know.

And now some personal ramblings: I read constantly, year round, but for some reason reading has always seemed more magical during the summer. This might be because summer vacation used to be a time to read practically all day if I wanted. Most of my happy "outside" summer memories are of reading in the hammock or on the swingset or at the beach, not of actually, you know, playing. And I still think it's unfair that everyone doesn't get summers off, by the way. I miss having time to read a book in a day.

I find that I want to read certain types of books more in the summer, too. Oddly, it seems that the two types are in a way diametrically opposed: classics and genre fiction. I read mysteries year round, but I'm much more likely to go for romance, sci fi, fantasy, and thrillers in the summer than any other time of the year. Right now, I'm particularly in the mood for epic fantasy, Nora Roberts, and maybe Mary Higgins Clark - I haven't read her in years. (I started reading her during a summer in middle school, though, so I guess this has been a trend with me for a while.)

And at the same time, I'm dying to read Austen, Vanity Fair, Gone with the Wind, Jane Eyre. I'm currently reading Rebecca, finally. Maybe this "Time to read the classics!" feeling comes from all those years of school summer reading lists. Maybe it has to do with my feeling through middle and high schools that summer was the time to actually learn things, since I didn't have all that time taken up by stupid boring school stuff. Hmm.

And speaking of summer reading lists, a fun anecdote to end with: A teenage boy and his mom came into the bookstore yesterday. They were looking for two books on his summer reading list. One of The Pearl, I think, and the other was Death Be Not Proud. Without really thinking, I said something like "That's upstairs in the Death section. I'll show you where it is."

The mother looked at me, aghast. "You have a death section?"

SRP Update

Well, the Summer Reading Program is coming right along! We have 26 participants so far - you can see them on the sidebar or the main Summer Reading Program page. Sign ups are still open, so come on and join! Five readers have already posted reviews, and Liz is taking an early lead with TWO books already.

Stay tuned, and spread the word - we have more exciting stuff coming, including blog buttons to show off your participation!

UPDATE: Buttons from Peninah!

Feel free to use, but please save to your own server. And if anyone else feels like making buttons or anything to share, go right ahead!

Announcing the Kat with a K Summer Reading Program 2006

Remember summer reading programs at the library when you were little? When they would actually reward you for reading instead of playing outside or doing whatever else it was that normal kids do? Maybe you have kids participating in one right now, in fact. But really, why should kids have all the fun? Some public libraries do have adult SRPs as well, but they're not so exciting. But fear not! The first annual Kat with a K Summer Reading Program (for Grown-Ups) is here!

The Basics: Sign up. Read books. Review them on your blog. Meet your goal. Maybe win some prizes.

Goals: Set a goal for how many books you want to read this summer: June 1 through August 31. The minimum is three, or an average of one for each month. Pick a goal for yourself that is challenging but doable. If you'd like, pick a bonus goal as well: this is a particular task with which you want to challenge yourself. It could be to finally read Moby Dick, or to read something in a genre out of your normal comfort zone, or something in another language, or whatever. Bonus goals are totally optional, but will make you eligible for more prize drawings.

Prizes: Readers who meet their goals will get a printable certificate and a prize image to proudly post on thier blogs. In addition, for each book you read, you will be entered in the main prize raffle. There will be a bunch of prizes; not sure how many yet. And yes, there will be prizes for Knitters and Muggles alike. There will be some extra prizes too: one for the person who reads the most books; one of the person who reads the most pages; a drawing among the people who met their bonus goals. And maybe more surprise prizes along the way. (If anyone has something they'd like to donate as a prize, let me know.)

Reviews: So what are these reviews you have to post? Don't worry; it's not too scary. For each book you read, post at least the title, author, number of pages, and a short commentary. Feel free to post other information (genre, publisher, etc.) if you'd like. The reviews can be as long or short as you want; just make sure you tell us enough to show that you actually read the book. ;-)

Ready to Sign Up? Just e-mail me with the following information:

1. Name
2. Blog URL
3. Goal (number of books)
4. Any bonus goals
5. Whether you knit (so we don't send yarn to Muggles)

Then I'll link you in the sidebar so we can all watch your progress. I'll also make a progress tracking page, where I'll track how people are doing. (A little healthy competition never hurt, right?) We'd prefer you post the books as you go, or at least once a month, so we can all get ideas from what others are reading, but if you have to post them all at the end, that's okay. I'll periodically post links to particularly interesting reviews.

FAQs

1. But I don't have a blog!
Don't worry, that won't disqualify you. Just let me know that when you sign up and we'll work something out.

2. June already started. Can I count books I've already read?
Yes, feel free to count books you finished on June 1 or later.

3. What if I started a book before June, but finish it in June (or July or August)?
That's fine. (Have you looked at my sidebar?) Count them. You'll probably start some over the summer that you won't finish until after August 31, so it will all work out.

4. What about rereads?
Also fine. I have things I like to reread every year, and I know others do too.

5. How about kids' books?
In the interest of fairness, I've decided to count anything from "chapter books" on up in the main drawing. If you have a question about a particular title, let me know. BUT! Do post about the picture books you're reading, and at the end of the summer we'll crown a Picture Book Queen (or King).

6. Knitting or other craft books? Or cookbooks?
If you sit down and read it cover to cover, yes. If you skim, just look at pictures, or just use some patterns or recipes, no.

7. Are you playing?
I'm going to set a goal and play along, but I won't award myself any prizes.

Ready? SIGN UP NOW!

And, as always, let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.