The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

When I'm not reading, I often entertain myself by looking at all sorts of bookish things on the Internet. I'm always looking for good blogs to read, lists to ponder, and funny/interesting/just-plain-weird bookish objects. What are your favorite bookish sites on the Internet?

I just stayed at a hotel that had this poster on the wall
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes I was really tempted to start reading...

Dlmrose wrote: "I just stayed at a hotel that had this poster on the wall
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes I was really tempted to start reading..."

Very cool!

I am a big fan of the Book Riot site. I can get lost there for hours. They also put out three pod casts, Book Riot, Reading Lives, and Dear Book Nerd, which are also great and have quite a few posts on You Tube where they talk about everything from new book releases to things related to books and reading. They also have a Facebook page and are on Instagram and Twitter.

Through Quartlerly.co, you can sign up for Book Riot subscription boxes, delivered three times a year with a subscription (or you can buy a single box to see if it's for you) filled with books, and as they say on the site, other cool bookish stuff. They have a regular box and just this year launched a YA box. I signed up for both. You don't know what you're getting until you open your box. I bought a closeout of one of the boxes at half price about a month ago and received three books, a two month subscription to Oyster, a zipper pouch that looks like an old school library card, a pin that says "I Read YA" and a poster related to one of the books. What's better than book mail?!

ETA: I found the SRC via Book Riot so I'm sure the mods already know all about it, but I'll leave the post here so maybe others can discover it as well :)

Lorraine wrote: "I am a big fan of the Book Riot site. I can get lost there for hours. They also put out three pod casts, Book Riot, Reading Lives, and Dear Book Nerd, which are also great and have quite a few post..."

Yeah, Book Riot routinely gets me into trouble these days. ;-)

I get their Quarterly boxes, too. I've only gotten one so far (the one that came out just before Christmas), and I'm very excited that another one is now on its way. I can't wait to see what's inside! So far, I've resisted signing up for the YA box, but I'm not sure how long I'll hold out.

I was unaware of Book Riot until Rachel's post led many of you here. Now I'm on there most days. All in all, a good thing. My TBR pile is certainly fat and happy......

One of my favorite features on Book Riot is their Book Fetish column. And look! They have a whole Book Fetish Pinterest board. Danger - there's some really cute stuff on here.......

Kristina Simon wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "I am a big fan of the Book Riot site. I can get lost there for hours. They also put out three pod casts, Book Riot, Reading Lives, and Dear Book Nerd, which are also great and have..."

My GR TBR list is fat and happy with over 700 books on it.

Kristina Simon wrote: "One of my favorite features on Book Riot is their Book Fetish column. And look! They have a whole Book Fetish Pinterest board. Danger - there's some really cute stuff on here......."

Oh boy….I see hours and hours and hours….lost…gone…and only 50 points achieved for this season's challenge as a result…

That said…my BR Quarterly Box is set to deliver tomorrow. Hopefully I can find tasks for the books in it!

Off to check the Pinterest board...

I bought this at an ALA conference a couple of years ago:

http://www.more.com/banned-books-brac...

Looking for weapons of mass instruction ?? Here you go !!




Read the article

Lorraine wrote: "I bought this at an ALA conference a couple of years ago:

http://www.more.com/banned-books-brac..."

Oh, wow. Pretty!

Paul wrote: "Looking for weapons of mass instruction ?? Here you go !!"

That is just awesome! I love it.

As well as Book Riot, the other one I follow is www.bookbrowse.com

Meg wrote: "As well as Book Riot, the other one I follow is www.bookbrowse.com"

That looks really great, Meg. Thanks!

Meg wrote: "As well as Book Riot, the other one I follow is www.bookbrowse.com"

Oh that looks like a great site! (And that's the sound of more of my free time going down the drain...!)

The first week of free audio downloads are available from AudioFile here: http://www.audiobooksync.com/2015-syn... This is a free service that pairs a YA book with an adult one, often a classic, in hopes of encouraging young people to read. But the books are available to any age. Depending on the publisher, some of these downloads are available outside the US, but not all.

You must download the two books offered this week, then they go away forever. So check and make sure your download worked. There will be two more books each week all summer. The player can be downloaded for free. (I use my OverDrive player.)

You can sign up for e-mail reminders each week. The titles change each summer, so get anything you might want while it's available. :) I got several of those offered last summer and enjoyed some of them a lot.

Teri-k wrote: "The first week of free audio downloads are available from AudioFile here: http://www.audiobooksync.com/2015-syn... This is a free service that pairs a YA book with an adult one, often a class..."

Oh, wow, that's really cool! Thanks for the tip, Teri-K!

Teri-k wrote: "The first week of free audio downloads are available from AudioFile here: http://www.audiobooksync.com/2015-syn... This is a free service that pairs a YA book with an adult one, often a class..."

Definitely added myself to the list. That's a neat idea, and much better than the reading lists that just force feed "classics" on people instead of trying to fit the book recommendations to the person. Thanks for the share!

One of the things I like about this is the wide variety of books they have. Last year I got Code Name Verity, The Hiding Place and Anne of Green Gables, among others. So there really is something for everyone. And once you get the books downloaded they don't expire. So you can try books out for free.

Great thread!

Teri-k wrote: "The first week of free audio downloads are available from AudioFile here: http://www.audiobooksync.com/2015-syn... This is a free service that pairs a YA book with an adult one, often a class..."

Oh that is wonderful Teri-k, I'm always on the lookout for new audio books and this looks like a great way to listen to things I wouldn't normally. I've just downloaded this weeks Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices.

Such a shame I missed Dodger and Rebecca!

Nicola wrote: "Teri-k wrote: "The first week of free audio downloads are available from AudioFile here: http://www.audiobooksync.com/2015-syn... This is a free service that pairs a YA book with an adult one..."

I'm sorry you missed Dodger, too. It's really, really good. But perhaps you can find it somewhere else some day. And there are lots of good books coming, aren't there?

I love poetry so I'm looking forward to Here in Harlem, too.

Here's a fascinating article from the New Yorker magazine about bibliotherapy. A reassuring quote:

"Regular readers sleep better, have lower stress levels, higher self-esteem, and lower rates of depression than non-readers."

Can Reading Make You Happier?
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cult...

Paul wrote: "Here's a fascinating article from the New Yorker magazine about bibliotherapy. A reassuring quote:

"Regular readers sleep better, have lower stress levels, higher self-esteem, and lower rates of..."

Great article. Thanks, Paul! Who knew there were bibliotherapists??

Bookworms, Rejoice: You May Live Longer

Woohoo! I saw we just made a new BookRiot list of reading challenges for 2017!

http://bookriot.com/2017/01/04/20-rea...

Here's a literary clock that a Goodreads user created:

http://www.literaryclock.com/

Terri FL wrote: "Woohoo! I saw we just made a new BookRiot list of reading challenges for 2017!

http://bookriot.com/2017/01/04/20-rea..."

I love that they still say its hosted by Cynthia since she hasn't been around for several years now...

Shanna_redwind wrote: "Here's a literary clock that a Goodreads user created:

http://www.literaryclock.com/"

This is awesome!

Christine wrote: "Shanna_redwind wrote: "Here's a literary clock that a Goodreads user created:

http://www.literaryclock.com/"

This is awesome!"

F5, F5, F5... Haha. So cool. Thanks to OP for sharing.