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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

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My Progress:


9 / 30 books. 30% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska
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- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
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- Washington, D.C.*

International:
- Australia (1)
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- England (5)
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- Ireland (1)
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My Progress:


12 / 51 states. 24% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 50 words. 20% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


15 / 50 books. 30% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

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32 / 50 books. 64% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


27 / 52 books. 52% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


21 / 40 books. 53% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


13 / 40 books. 33% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


5 / 25 books. 20% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


17 / 26.2 miles. 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


15 / 100 books. 15% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


34 / 104 books. 33% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


31 / 52 books. 60% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


32 / 165 books. 19% done!
Sunday, January 31, 2010

Fabulous February

So much is going on in the next 28 days that I don't know whether to celebrate or jump under my covers and hide. It's going to be a busy month, both in my personal life and here on BBB. Family-wise, we've got some big events coming up - our baby's adoption will be finalized (after a year of waiting), we'll finally be able to have her sealed to us, and our 8-year-old is being baptized. For those of you who aren't LDS, the last two things probably don't mean much - those of you who are, know what a big deal these two religious ceremonies are. After those joyous occasions, I get to go through a not-so-happy one. At the end of the month, I'll be having a total thyroidectomy to remove what my doctors suspect is a cancerous cyst. Yippee for me. I don't know what the recovery process will be like, so if BBB's a little neglected then, you'll understand why. Don't abandon me, though - I've got some fun stuff coming up. Read on for all the details:



  • Right now, I'm running a contest for some Angela Morrison goodness. I have 3 books to give away - 1 signed, hardcover copy of Sing Me to Sleep (which I reviewed here) and 2 hardcover copies of Taken By Storm (read my review here) as well as signed bookmarks. Click here to read all about the contest.

  • I'm working hard to clean up my sidebars and make BBB more user-friendly. I've added a few things, deleted others. Over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to be debuting some new features. The very talented Jerilyn is working on some buttons for me. When she's done, I will unveil all the fun new stuff. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out her website. She's fabulous.

  • I've talked a little about my blogg-y plans for Black History Month. My intention was to review a book every day that met the following criteria: (a) It's written by a person who is Black or bi-racial; (b) It's illustrated by a person who is Black or bi-racial; (c) Its main character is Black or bi-racial; or (d) It deals with Black culture/history/heritage in some way. Then, The Big C came along and rocked my world a little. So, while I'll still be posting lots of reviews of books that fit the above criteria, I won't be doing it every day.

  • However, I'm going to unveil a little somethin'-somethin' I've been thinking about for awhile. It's called Baby Steps to Understanding: Celebrating Black Culture One Book At A Time. This feature was inspired by my beautiful daughter, who's bi-racial (her birth father is Black, her birth mother is white). It wasn't until I adopted her that I realized how vastly underrepresented Black/bi-racial people are in modern literature. I want my baby to grow up loving books, I want her to find characters with whom she can identify, I want her to see girls who look like her on book covers. To that end, I've created this feature. Every time I review a book that meets the criteria I listed above, you will see this button:
The drawing is based on this scrumptious child:


I mean, really, don't you want to just eat her up?

I'm working on creating a list of the "Baby Steps" books I've already reviewed. Eventually, the button on the right sidebar will link to it.

  • I'm working on similar lists featuring LDS Authors, Arizona Authors and "Stories for a Sunday." More on that later ...
  • My reading year is off to a pretty good start. I read 14 books in January. How'd you do? Oh, and I reached 100 followers this month. Thanks, everybody, that's an exciting milestone for me!

Phew! Okay, I think that's it. Just typing all this is making me tired. It's going to be a busy February - you won't want to miss a minute!

5 comments:

  1. Oh I love that button! How precious. She is just gorgeous and I can't wait to meet her! I look forward to all the stuff you have planned but make sure to take care of yourself and family first! Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations on the upcoming exciting Feb. events! (And yes, I do know how big they are.) Except for that one at the end... surgery does NOT sound fun. But all your blog plans do sound fun. Good luck with everything! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an exciting month ahead! (minus the last part). When I was sitting in Baptism Preview with our soon-to-be 8 year old, I just realized how it's those special moments with your kids that make being a mom so wonderful.

    The button is adorable and so is your beautiful little girl! Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a darling little girl! You have a lot coming up, I can't wait to read it all! By the way, did you make the button yourself? If you did it's fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a cute idea. I love the button and that baby is absolutely beautiful. Just want to hug her. Keep up the great job you are doing.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!

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End of Story by A.J. Finn

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<i>Listening</i>
My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows



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