Sunday, February 17, 2013

The Spring of Sarah Dessen Reading Challenge


When I was in my mid-teens, I discovered Sarah Dessen’s books and fell in love. I can’t remember which one I read first, but the one that stuck with me the most (and still to this day is a favourite) was Someone Like You. It was one of those stories that was so relevant to me, and that I could have sworn Sarah had written about me and my best friend. It was that book that made me even more certain I wanted to be a writer.

Over the years I’ve read several of Sarah’s books, and I currently own all but her two newest ones (which I’ve read, but borrowed from the library). As I went on a little shopping spree after Christmas and bought the remainder of her books that I didn’t already own, I realized it was a shame I hadn’t read all her books since I’m such a big fan. I decided I would read all of them this year, and then I realized it would be fun to ask people to join me. I asked a few blogging friends as well as some BookTubers and there was quite a bit of interest, so The Spring of Sarah Dessen was born (I was going to wait until summer, but I just couldn’t!).

Here’s the deal: read as many Sarah Dessen books as you can before June 1st. Pretty simple right?

Oh, you want more details than that? ;-)

The Details:
  • This is basically a reading challenge, and the idea is for you to read and review as many of Sarah’s books as you can between March 1st and June 1st. Each new review you write gets you one entry into the giveaway (I’ll get to that in a second). Reviews must be posted for the first time between March 1st and June 1st (you can start reading the books any time, but all reviews must be brand new and never posted before as of March 1st, 2013). So basically if you read and write a review for one book that’s one entry, if you read and write a review for 3 books that’s 3 entries, etc.
  • Rereads count as long as you haven’t posted a review for it before (or if you posted a review quite a long time ago, I’ll accept a ‘fresh’ review - for instance, I read and reviewed Along for the Ride in 2011, so if I were to read it again, I’d write a new review with my second impressions and link it to my old review - you can do that too).
  • Audiobooks count
  • You can join this challenge at any time
  • You don’t have to have a blog to participate, as long as you can post reviews somewhere (GoodReads, YouTube, Amazon, Chapters, etc)


Other Stuff:
  • Between March 1st and June 1st, I’ll be posting reviews of the Sarah Dessen books I read, along with other posts like cover comparisons, favourite characters, book crushes, etc. If you’d like to write a post for the event (your favourite Sarah Dessen books, why you love her books, what her books mean to you, favourite quotes from her books etc), please let me know and I’d be happy to include it in the event.
  • I will be creating a page for this event and will update it regularly with all our reviews so people can check them out easily. Hopefully it will drive a bit of traffic to participants’ blogs.
  • If you’re on Twitter, feel free to use the hashtag #SOSD so we can all find each other and cheer each other on. You can share your reviews, updates, book/page count, etc. BTW, I'm @SweetMarie83 on Twitter. ;-)

The Giveaway:
Instead of a Linky List, I’m going to set up a Rafflecopter. You get one entry for participating, and then one entry for each review you post. On June 2nd, Rafflecopter will pick a winner from among the entries, and the winner will get a pre-order of Sarah’s new release The Moon and More (which comes out June 4th). If you’re lucky enough to have gotten an ARC of The Moon and More…first of all, can I have it? *grins and bats lashes* (I’m only half-joking…I want that book so bad!!) Seriously though, if you already have the book, you can pick a Sarah Dessen book of your choice. OR if you already own all of Sarah’s books, you can choose a contemporary YA novel (I’m sticking with Sarah’s genre) of your choice up to $10 CAN. If there’s enough interest in this challenge, I will add a second winner. 

Ramblings of a Daydreamer

Sarah Dessen’s Books
*in order of publication…I’m going to be reading them in order, just for fun*
That Summer {GoodReads}
Someone Like You {GoodReads}
Keeping the Moon {GoodReads}
Dreamland {GoodReads}
This Lullaby {GoodReads}
The Truth About Forever {GoodReads}
Just Listen {GoodReads}
Lock and Key {GoodReads}
Along for the Ride {GoodReads}
What Happened to Goodbye {GoodReads}
The Moon and More {GoodReads}

Does this reading challenge sound like something you'd be interested in? Want to join? Simply sign up via the InLinkz below (the URL can be your blog or wherever you'll be posting reviews). If you want to write an introductory post with your goals (feel free to use one of my graphics, and please link back to this post so other people can find out about the challenge) you can use that link to sign up. If you have any questions or you'd like to participate with a guest post you can email me at irishstar_83(at)hotmail(dot)com



8 comments:

  1. Ooh, this sounds like a lot of fun! I wondered if you were still doing something like this, so I'm happy you are. I think I may do May as my month of Sarah Dessen. I already own five of her books and am hoping to pick up a few more on sale at various places! I'm still kicking around what/how I'm going to do this challenge, but your dates have given me a start to think on. I'll definitely be coming back and signing up!

    Hope you're feeling better, chica! Miss you.

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  2. Have fun! It sounds like you are very organized and are going to make it fun for everyone. I've only read two of SD's books and, sadly, there's something about them that just doesn't do it for me.

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  3. Aw! I would so do this, only I have too many other obligations in the meantime and wouldn't be able to squeeze even one in. I love her books. :) Have fun!!!

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  4. Your button looks cute and your info makes it clear you've put a lot of thought into this. I'll feature it in the spotlight thing I've started on my blog this Saturday. :) Alas, I read The Truth About Forever and I totally didn't care for it, so I think I'm gonna sit this one out. Good luck, though!

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  5. Awesome challenge. Hmmm decisions, decisions - I have a major personal challenge that I am way behind on or I would join this one. *sigh* But I will promote the heck out of it for you. :)

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  6. I LOVE Sarah's books!! I've read them all! Except of course The Moon and More, because I myself am also dying to read it!!!! :)

    My absolute favorite by Sarah so far, has been "Along for the Ride"!! Just loved that one!!
    Btw, have you seen the movie "How to Deal" with Mandy Moore...because that was based off of two of Sarah's books... "That Summer" and "Someone Like You"! :)

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  7. Was it meaning to link here reviews too? I have read The Truth About Forever and blogged about it: http://kirjavakukko.blogspot.fi/2013/05/kirja-mitt-perfekta-liv.html There's summary in English too.

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  8. Where do you want reviews link to? My review of That Summer is up http://rachaelc94.blogspot.com/2013/05/book-review-that-summer-by-sarah-dessen.html

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Thanks for visiting Ramblings of a Daydreamer! I love hearing what you have to say, and I appreciate every single comment. I hope to see you here again soon! ♥
~Marie

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