Contentment Reading Challenge: November (Book Swap!)

We've got about 2 months left to finish up this challenge for 2011, and only one more monthly update after this! I'll have to cook up something special for the occasion. ;) I haven't re-read any books since the last update, so let's just move right along to today's activity... (But feel free to chime in with any of your own totals from the past month!)

Today, back by popular demand (again!), let's welcome another round of the Contentment Reading Challenge Book Swap! To save me a bit of time, as well as to make sure we're all on the same page, I'm just going to repeat the book swap guidelines from the last two swaps (in March and in June).

Here are some guidelines:

• You don't have to be a participant in the Contentment Reading Challenge in order to get involved in the book swap.

• If you are participating in the challenge and you end up getting a book through the book swap, feel free to count it to your total if you would like. It can be a re-read or a first-time read. You don't have to count it, though, if you only want to count re-reads. I'm just giving you permission if you'd like to. ;)

• There are no guarantees that everyone will get to participate. It's all up to you whether or not you end up connecting with another reader and finding some commonalities in your lists. (I'll explain that in just a moment.)

• If you choose to participate in the book swap, you will have to pay your own shipping to send your book(s) to another person. (This probably means that most of the "swappers" will be U.S. residents, but if a couple of people from another, same country find each other here, then that would be great!)
  

So, now I'll tell you how this is actually going to work! You'll need to put together two lists:

1. A list of books you are willing to send (swap) to another person.
2. A list of books you are interested in receiving through the swap, whether books you don't have that you want to re-read, or books you've never read before.
   

In the comments section post your two lists along with your e-mail address. If you see someone whose list matches up to yours in some way, someone you want to trade/swap with (etc.), then contact that person by e-mail and set up a swap! Or wait and see if anyone contacts you.

To get us started (and to give you an example), I'm just going to post my two lists here:

Books Available for Swapping:

• A Whisper of Peace by Kim Vogel Sawyer
• I Still Believe by Jeremy Camp (non-fiction) *Taken*
  
• To Have and to Hold by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller
• Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott
• A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher
• Hello, Hollywood! by Janice Thompson
• Captive Trail by Susan Page Davis
• Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist (ARC)
• Out of Control by Mary Connealy
  

Books I'm Interested In:

• Doctor in Petticoats, Montana Rose, or Deep Trouble by Mary Connealy
• How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler *Taken*
  
• The Jewel of His Heart by Maggie Brendan
• Moon Over Tokyo or The Cubicle Next Door by Siri Mitchell
• Nothing But Trouble or Double Trouble by Susan May Warren
  

If you're interested in swapping with me, e-mail me at: stokes.a@suddenlink.net

I'm willing to be flexible, so feel free to just let me know if one of my books sounds good to you, and we can go from there. =) And go ahead and post your lists and see if there's anyone you want to swap with!

Note: If you don't have a U.S. mailing address, be sure to let others know that in your comment. There might be someone from your country willing to swap with you! (As for me personally, I can only swap with those in the U.S. due to shipping costs.)

Contentment Reading Challenge: June (Book Swap!)

Back by popular demand, let's welcome another round of the Contentment Reading Challenge Book Swap! ;) To save me a bit of time, as well as to make sure we're all on the same page, I'm just going to repeat the book swap guidelines from the last swap (in March).

Here are some guidelines:

• You don't have to be a participant in the Contentment Reading Challenge in order to get involved in the book swap.

• If you are participating in the challenge and you end up getting a book through the book swap, feel free to count it to your total if you would like. It can be a re-read or a first-time read. You don't have to count it, though, if you only want to count re-reads. I'm just giving you permission if you'd like to. ;)

• There are no guarantees that everyone will get to participate. It's all up to you whether or not you end up connecting with another reader and finding some commonalities in your lists. (I'll explain that in just a moment.)

• If you choose to participate in the book swap, you will have to pay your own shipping to send your book(s) to another person. (This probably means that most of the "swappers" will be U.S. residents, but if a couple of people from another, same country find each other here, then that would be great!)
  

So, now I'll tell you how this is actually going to work! You'll need to put together two lists:

1. A list of books you are willing to send (swap) to another person.
2. A list of books you are interested in receiving through the swap, whether books you don't have that you want to re-read, or books you've never read before.
   

In the comments section post your two lists along with your e-mail address. If you see someone whose list matches up to yours in some way, someone you want to trade/swap with (etc.), then contact that person by e-mail and set up a swap! Or wait and see if anyone contacts you.

To get us started (and to give you an example), I'm just going to post my two lists here:

Books I'm Willing to Part With:

• Love is Grand by Annalisa Daughety
• Angel Song by Sheila Walsh and Kathryn Cushman
• Just Jane by Nancy Moser
• If Tomorrow Never Comes by Marlo Schalesky
• Bathsheba by Jill Eileen Smith
• Where Hearts are Free by Golden Keyes Parsons
• Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas by Janice Hanna
• Quite a few Karen Kingsbury and Dee Henderson books
  

And much more! Now that I'm home for the summer, I have access to my bookshelves--and let me tell you, they are loaded! If you have a book I'm interested in (listed below), then I just might have one to interest you, too. ;)

Books I'm Interested In:

• Waterfall or Cascade by Lisa T. Bergren
  
• Bridge of Peace by Cindy Woodsmall
• Anna Finch and the Hired Gun by Kathleen Y'Barbo
• Doctor in Petticoats, Montana Rose, or Deep Trouble by Mary Connealy
• How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler
• A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin
  
• The Jewel of His Heart by Maggie Brendan
• Bound By Guilt by C.J. Darlington
  

If you're interested in swapping with me, e-mail me at: stokes.a@suddenlink.net

I can add more to these lists, and I'm willing to be a bit flexible. ;) So go ahead and post your lists and see if there's anyone you want to swap with!

Note: If you don't have a U.S. mailing address, be sure to let others know that in your comment. There might be someone from your country willing to swap with you!

My Review of Leather and Lace

Here's a description of the book from Goodreads:

"Casey O'Hare forsakes life with an outlaw gang to start anew in 1884. WANTED posters across the country attribute various crimes to her of which she is innocent. The outlaw leader, Davis Jenkins, and her brother Tim ride in her pursuit, while a stranger by the name of Morgan enters her campsite in the snow-covered mountains of Utah. Under gunpoint, he leads her down the icy slopes to safety, but Casey learns Morgan is using her to get to Jenkins-and vows to escape him, too. Will Casey's past catch up with her, or will she find a place to rest in the arms of love?"

My Rating: Fall/Spring

My Review:

The beginning drew me in right away: a female outlaw, running away from one possessive man only to be caught by another vengeful man. The descriptions of the cold, the scenery, the night sky--beautiful! From the start I sensed an intriguing adventure to come.

While an adventure did follow in the rest of the story, it wasn't quite as thrilling or action-packed as I hoped it would be. There are some great lessons and reminders throughout the book that come a little close to preachy but still make this an edifying read. The various paces of the book frustrated me a little--in some cases the timeline of the story sped by, and in others issues seemed too drawn out--but overall it was still a fun and interesting read, as well.

*With thanks to Bluerose for a chance to read this book through a book swap!*

Second Chance Book Swap!

Were you unable to attend the book swap last week here on the blog? If you did come, did you think of some other books you'd be willing to exchange or some more books you've been eager to find? Well, here's your second chance to swap some books!

The guidelines are the same as the ones posted last Friday. If you missed that post, click HERE to check it out.

I personally won't be joining in on this one since I made a lot of swaps last time, but I hope that everyone enjoys this opportunity to swap again!

Just post a list of some books you're willing to swap and a list of some books you're interested in, along with your e-mail address, in the comments section, and see if anyone's lists match up with yours!

Let the swapping begin!

(Remember that you will have to cover the cost of shipping for each book you swap. Have fun!)

Contentment Reading Challenge: March (Book Swap!)

I have been hearing such wonderful things from participants in the Contentment Reading Challenge about how much they've re-read! You all are doing such a great job!

If you're participating in the challenge and haven't re-read as much as you had hoped to so far, though, you're not alone. I have been reading so many new books for review and such that I have only re-read one book for this challenge (which I mentioned in February's update).

I think by choosing to go all the way ("Diving" level--20 books), I've overwhelmed myself. Yes, it is "my" challenge, in a sense, so I feel bad for not challenging myself more, but I think I'm going to jump back a couple of levels. I think I need to do some "Wading" before I attempt any "Diving!" ;) I'm sorry for not being a better example, though, and I do hope I can still learn from this challenge.

Anyway, today is a very special update post: I'm hosting a book swap! Here are some guidelines:

• You don't have to be a participant in the Contentment Reading Challenge in order to get involved in the book swap.
• If you are participating in the challenge and you end up getting a book through the book swap, feel free to count it to your total if you would like. It can be a re-read or a first-time read. You don't have to count it, though, if you only want to count re-reads. I'm just giving you permission if you'd like to. ;)
• There are no guarantees that everyone will get to participate. It's all up to you whether or not you end up connecting with another reader and finding some commonalities in your lists. (I'll explain that in just a moment.)
• If you choose to participate in the book swap, you will have to pay your own shipping to send your book to another person. (This probably means that most of the "swappers" will be U.S. residents, but if a couple of people from another, same country find each other here, then that would be great!)
  

So, now I'll tell you how this is actually going to work! You'll need to put together two lists:

1. A list of books you are willing to send (swap) to another person.
   
2. A list of books you are interested in receiving through the swap, whether books you don't have that you want to re-read, or books you've never read before.

(I recommend just swapping one book for one book with another person, but honestly, that is up to the two "swappers" to decide.)

In the comments section post your two lists along with your e-mail address. If you see someone whose list matches up to yours in some way, someone you want to trade/swap with (etc.), then contact that person by e-mail and set up a swap! Or wait and see if anyone contacts you.

I've never hosted a book swap before, so I hope this works! ;) I'll go first by posting my two lists in the comments section. Also, feel free to post your update for the Contentment Reading Challenge here, as well. Just remember to specify if you're wanting to participate in the swap!