New Challenges and pages for 2015

Like many other book enthusiasts I am setting up my challenges for the coming year. Yes there are many, but that's half the fun of it. I am joining a lot of new challenges this year and some old favorites. I am doing Monthly, Quarterly, Bi-annual and Annual challenges so the updates will be frequent. Rather than bombard you with posts I am working on pages that will track my progress. I will be doing a monthly post to let you know my progress and what I thought of some of the books I read. As of right now the challenges I am aiming to do are from the M/M Romance Group on Goodreads and there is pleanty of time to join so stop on in and sign up! 

So far these are the challenges I am doing (Links will take you to Goodreads M/M Romance Group which you need to be a member to view.):

 ~Monthly~

Comfort Zone Challenge - The purpose of this Challenge is to have a book selected for you that allows you to remain in your comfort zone. On the last day of the month participants are paired up and then choose a book for their partner to read during the next month. Since you want to have a book chosen for you that you will enjoy you are allowed to post up to 3 comforts or restrictions. I kept my request simple this month and opted for No YA. I tend to change my request up from month to month depending on my mood. Sign ups are open until the 31st at 3pm EST. (You must be a member of the M/M Romance Group to join or view any of these challenges.) This one is only 1 book for the month. Hosted by Eepa *mm loving bookworm*

Pick It For Me Challenge -  The Pick it for Me (PifM) challenge can be a little more risky. You don't get to list any preferences for this one so there is a chance your partner will take you completely outside your comfort zone. Your partner has to choose a new sub-genre or a new and unfamiliar author, not found on your "read" shelf. I enjoy this one because I get to experience a new author or genre that I may not have chosen for myself.  There have been times in the past that I haven't loved the book that was chosen for me, so it is a gamble but thats the intriguing part. Sign ups are open until the 31st at 6pm EST.  This is also only 1 book for the month. Hosted by Mammarella

Flavor of the Month - The Flavor of the Month (FotM) Challenge is a bit different than the other two, you are assigned someone to pick for but instead of only being one book this one is eight books. Not only are you choosing 8 books for your partner, but there are certain criteria for each pick. In addition to the criteria 4 of the picks must be new to them (not on any of their shelves) and the other 4 can be from their tbr list.  Each month there is a different Host and a different "Flavor". For January our host is Eepa *mm loving bookworm* and the flavor is: "Is fiction really stranger than truth?" So I am really excited to see what she has come up with. ( I will be hosting this one in September!) Sign ups are open until the 31st at 4pm EST.

Category Challenge -  This is the largest of the monthly challenges in that it is a total of 11 books, 10 categories plus a bonus. In this one you select your own books to read and you can sign up at any time by creating a post in the thread. The Categories have already been posted and I have selected my books. If you want to see what I will be reading be sure to check out my new 2015 Monthly Challenges page! Hosted by Jamie

~Quarterly~

Gang Bang - This challenge is one of my favorites. I have been doing it every quarter since I joined the M/M Romance Group and I always look forward to it. The jist of it is that everyone that signs up makes two different shelves on Goodreads. One is a "pick from" shelf and the other is "already picked" of course you can call your shelves whatever you like. Mine are "pick-me" and "q1-gb-tbr". Once your shelves are set up you add books to your pick from shelf that you would like to read in the upcoming quarter. Sign ups start around the beginning of the last month of the quarter. (So for 2015 quarter 1, sign ups started Dec 1.) Picking starts on the 16th and lasts until the 26th. Picking books is the start of the fun. You look at the books on the other participants selected shelf and pick 3 that you would recommend. You then PM them with your 3 selections and then they choose one of the three to read during the quarter. There are usually a lot of picks to make. This quarter I have 49 books tbr with 2 possible picks that have yet to come in. Hosted by Jamie

Seasonal Read Your TBR Winter 2015 -  I jumped on the chance to join in on this one. I love that it is driven to work on that tbr list that always manages to grow instead of decline. This one has already started and I have to admit I haven't gotten very far, the holidays and prior commitments have gotten in the way, but I plan to dive in after the first. The duration is from December 21, 2015 to March 19, 2015 you pick your level and tasks that you want to complete. Levels range from Level 1: 1-5 books to Level 4: 15+ books. Of course I am all in and going for Level 4. The tasks have already been revealed and my books are selected so check my 2015 Quarterly Challenges page to see what books I am planning to read. There is no restrictions on sign up, you can join at anytime. Hosted by: Susan A

Periodic Table Challenge - This is a totally new challenge and I can't wait to try it out. There are again several levels to choose from ranging from Novice to Uber Geek. Sign ups are not limited so you can join at any time. I am going for the Uber Geek level and my total comes to 68 books. To complete the Challenge we need to read books whos title or authors first or last name begins with the letter in the symbol. I have my books selected and you can see more of the challenge on my Quarterly Challenge page. Hosted by Amanda


Well that is my Monthly and Quarterly Challenges so far, there is always the chance of adding more but I think these give me pleanty of room to maneuver. I have been successful at double dipping (making books fit multiple challenges) so it isn't as daunting as it may seem. I will be working on completing the pages so be sure to check them out. I will be back in a day or so and give you a rundown of my Bi-Annual and Annual Challenges too! In the meantime let me know what challenges you are taking part in, who knows, I may have to add more to my list!