Spring Reading Thing 2013

Welcome to Spring Reading Thing 2013!  Coming to you in 4 Days!

Katrina from Callapidder Days was unable to host this fantastic Reading Challenge this year so I have volunteered to step in. This is a valuable challenge for me.  I have my students participate in both her fall and spring reading challenge.  I just could not bear not having it.  So bear with me as I give my first shot at hosting a reading challenge.  As always this is a fun way to catch up on some of the books you have not had a chance to read or finish. You may not have much time to read.  If you can only read 2 books that is fine.  Keep this simple and fun. 

Most of what you will read has been borrowed from Katrina’s site.  I wanted to make sure the  basic rules are the same for those who have participated in years past.

Here are the basics  you will need to do if you wish to participate in this reading challenge.

1.     Make a list of books you want to read this Spring.  Since this is a stress free challenge you may feel free to modify your list as needed if it is not working for you.  I often do this because I get requests for a book review with a due date.

2.     Write a blog post containing your list and submit March 20^th to the Mr. Linky that will be at the bottom of that post.

·      Then begin reading!  The Challenge runs from March 20^th through June 20^th.

·      Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile

You might want to check out  last year’s Spring Reading Thing Challenge to see what others did and to find answers to any questions you may have.

Posting Guidelines

1.     Write your post before you sign up on the linky list that will go live on March 20^th.  Please have your post written and pubished on your blog before you add your name to the linky list.  If I click on your name/link and do not see your post and reading list, or if it takes me to a post that says you will be participating, but will post your list later, I will delete your entry from the list.  It is unfair to those participants who have already prepared their lists and blog posts.  If I delete your entry please come back and submit your name again once your post/list is up.

2.     Use a permalink when you sign up.  Make sure your linky list is linked to your Spring Reading Thing post, not just the front page of your blog.  Mr. Linky will go live on March 20^th.  There will be a space marked “Your Name” where you will type your name (or your blog’s name) and a space under it for “Your URL,” or website address.  This is where you will put your permalink to your Spring Reading Thing post.

      Instead of something like :  http://myspecialblog.com  you would want 

      something like this: 

       http://myspecialblog.com/2013/03/spring-reading -thing.html

These addresses are made up, but you get the idea. Blogging Basics 101 has an article on how to find the “permalink” to a particular post HERE.

3.     Keep your post family-friendly.  Please make sure any book titles or book coverts you include would be safe for younger people to see.  In years past Katrina has had kids participate in the reading challenge and my students participate.  I want to make sure the links presented on the official Spring Reading Thing list are safe for them.  Links to posts with explicit titles or covers may be deleted. 

4.  Get ready to read!  I have included time each week in my classroom for reading to

      give me and my students time to work on our reading goals.  I also use this time 

      to check out what other participants are reading.  It is a wonderful way to add

      books to our ever growing reading list.

Mr. Linky

My plan at this time is to put up the official Spring Reading Thing 2013 launch post at 6:00 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday March 19^th.  The reason for this is because I teach all day and won’t be able to check  if something goes wrong with the linky list until that evening.  You may sign up the night before but please do not start reading until the 20^th.  If you have any questions please email me at skstiles612 [at] yahoo [dot] com.  I will do my best to answer your questions.

I will be giving away two prizes as part of the 2013 Spring Reading Challenge:

1.     A $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com

2.     A #10 gift certificate to Amazon.com

To be eligible you must:

·      Post your initial Spring Reading Thing 2013 post  ( and enter it on the linky list on my blog) by midnight on March 24th

·      AND post a wrap-up post on your blog at the end of the challenge (and enter it on the linky list I’ll have up then) by midnight on June 24^th

That is it.  I’ll randomly draw the winners shortly after the end of the challenge.

You may get the button below

<a href="http://www.themusingsofabookaddict.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Musings of a Book Addict" src=" http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz265/skstiles612/f2e6983f-cb04-4e74-96a2-fb6b0e558c20.jpg "/></a>