Chunkster Challenge Sticky Post

It’s the end of January and depending on where you live, it’s the perfect season to snuggle up with a chunkster. (Really any time is a good time to crack open a chunkster.) More than 100 people have signed up for the Chunkster Challenge so far!! Thank you.

Every month, you can find announcements about chunkster read-alongs, guest posts, and anything else chunkster-related that I can think of.

Happy reading!

Read-along alert: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Hey guys! I hope your summer is going well. Instead of shrinking, my summer tbr (to be read) pile is growing as I find book after book that I want to read while the days are long.

 

The lovely ladies over at The Estella Society are hosting a summer read-along of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. This chunkster is one of my favorite books of all time. If you’ve always wanted to read the book, now is a great time. The event starts later this month on July 21^st and continues until August 18^th.

For more information, click on the link above.

January 2014 Reviews Link-Up

Thanks to Wendy for this post. Just like the challenge rules have changed, so have the rules for linking your reviews. Please read everything before linking up your review or thoughts.

Here is where you can give us a link to your reviews of the books you read for the 2014 challenge...but please remember, the challenge starts JANUARY 1st - any books read prior to this date do not count!!

When you provide the link to your review, please use the following format:

YOUR NAME (Title of Book)

Please don't include your blog's name. Just your name and the title of the book you read. It's an easy way for participants to find reviews on the chunksters they're interested in.

Example: Wendy (Shantaram)

 When you provide your link on Mr. Linky, please link DIRECTLY to your review (not the main page of your blog). Links which only lead to the main blog will be deleted.

Finally, if you do not have a blog or decide not to review a book, please leave a comment telling me which book you read and your thoughts on it!

 Thanks...and have fun!!!!

Announcement: The Goldfinch Read-along

Thinking about reading one last chunkster before the end of the year?

Unsure as to which one it should be?

Well you're in luck!

I'm hosting a read-along of Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch with Athira from Reading on a Rainy Day. The read-along starts now and continues until the end of the year. This is a laid-back event. If you don't want to write a blog post, don't. Just join us in the discussion at the end of the year. Twitter hashtag: #goldfinch

2014 Chunkster Challenge Sign-ups

Welcome to the 2014 Chunkster Challenge! I’m your host, Vasilly. 

Wondering what’s a chunkster? A chunkster is an adult or YA book, non-fiction or fiction, that’s 450 pages or more. 

Rules for this challenge:

• Audio books and e-books are now allowed. You want to listen to a chunkster on audio? Be my guest. 
• Essay, short story, and poetry collections are allowed but they have to be read in their entirety to count.
• Books may crossover with other challenges.
• Anyone can join.
• You don’t have to list your book ahead of time.
• Graphic novels don’t count. Sorry guys but reading a chunkster graphic novel isn’t the same as reading a non-graphic chunkster.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about the levels of participation that have always been a part of this challenge. This year we’re going to try something new: there won’t be any levels. 

Don’t get me wrong. This is still a reading challenge. Challenge yourself without being locked in to a certain number. If you didn’t read any chunksters in 2013 and want to change that in 2014, come up with a number and try to read that amount. 

I understand that chunksters can be a bit intimidating. My goal is to encourage as many people as possible to give chunksters a try. We all love short books because we can get through them in a sitting or a few days. It’s different with chunksters. With chunksters, you have to slow down and take your time. The Chunkster Challenge is all about having fun and reading good books. 

All I ask is that participants either write a post or leave a comment in the comments section letting the world know your goal. Mr. Linky is acting up so if you write a post, leave a link in the comment section.

 I’ll be right here to cheer you on. Happy reading.

Follow The Chunkster Blog on Facebook, RSS or Email

Because many people are going to be impacted by Google Reader's demise in a few months, I thought it might be helpful to some of you on Facebook to be able to follow this blog through Networked Blogs. If you wish to do so, simply visit the widget in our side bar and click on "Follow this Blog." New posts will show up on your newsfeed through the Networked Blogs feature on Face Book.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

I should mention that for those of you who wish to follow The Chunkster Challenge blog by RSS feed or email, those options are still available. Just sign up by using the widgets at the top of the sidebar.

Chunky Book Club - To Be or Not to Be?

In 2012, we decided to try something new here on the Chunkster Challenge: a chunky book club which did not require participants to join the challenge, AND any format of book was acceptable.

Initially, there seemed to be some interest in this concept, so we provided a poll for book selections and went forward. Unfortunately, we did not have the level of participation we would have liked. So, now we are re-thinking the idea. Should we offer a book club in 2013 or not?

We would love your input!

Please consider taking the two polls in the sidebar of this blog (the polls are open through the 19th of this month). Also we would love to hear your comments on this post. If we do the book club again, what should we change? What should stay the same? If you didn't participate, what would encourage you to do so? If you did participate, what was your experience like? If we offer the book club, should we continue to offer it 4 times a year (every three months)? Less? More?

Thanks in advance for your input...this blog is meant to be for YOU, the readers of all things chunky so we value your opinion!

Reminder: Chunky Book Club Pick for September

The September book club pick for the Chunky Book Club is FALL OF GIANTS by Ken Follett. We will begin discussion of the novel mid-month...so if you have not yet started this door stopper, you still have time!

Watch for a post in the early part of the month about the book and author.

And, if you have already read this book, look for the release of its sequel on September 18th:

Reminder: Chunky Book Club Poll

We have had a terrific response to our Chunky Book Club Poll...but we would love to have more people vote before the poll closes. There have been no new votes for about a week...so I may close the poll early unless I see a new surge of interest in the next couple of days.

If you have NOT voted and are interested in joining us this year, please hurry over and cast your vote!!

The poll may be found on THIS POST.

Sometimes Change is Good...

A new year.

The addition of a new administrator.

Some new changes to the rules.

So, why not a new look too? Stop by and enjoy the whimsical feel we've adopted. And while you're here, check out our contact page and about page - and see what we're doing to help you find the chunky books you have always wanted to read - so far we have suggestions by page number, and Vasilly is working hard to put together a page for suggestions by genre (stay tuned!).

We are also REALLY excited about hosting the first ever Chunky Book Club - visit the Book Club page and the introductory post where you can vote on the books we will be reading in 2012. Watch for a schedule by January 11th.

This year we will also be highlighting selected chunksters in two ways:

• Randomly selected books and reviews from the Mr. Linky reviews for 2012, AND
• Features of brand new fiction coming out in 2012 which meet the criteria of a chunkster. These will include guest posts by authors and giveaways!

Our first featured book will be The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman - watch for information about this book, a feature by the author and a giveaway to one lucky winner in January. Please note that to be eligible for the giveaway you must be signed up for the Chunkster Challenge (since the January giveaway overlaps both the 2011 and 2012 challenge, all participants signed up for 2011, as well as those signed up in 2012 will be eligible - if you've signed up for both, then you get a double entry)!

FTC Disclosure: Book giveaways and featured book articles are NOT paid promos. Although books for giveaway will be supplied by the publisher (in most cases), The Chunkster Challenge administrators do not accept payment to host these special events.

We are really excited about the changes and additions we are making to the blog, and hope that you will find them to be an added benefit to joining us here. Please consider subscribing to this blog to keep up to date on all that is happening.

The Chunky Book Club

 Vasilly and I have put our heads together and come up with an idea we hope you will like - a book club to celebrate the chunky books. We are planning to read four books per year (or one book every three months) for this book club - giving participants plenty of time to read the book up for discussion. Here is how it all works:

• At the beginning of each year we will post a poll on the blog asking people to vote for FOUR books they would most like to read. The top four vote-getters will be our reads for the year. If there is a tie, we will post a tie-breaker poll.
• Book club discussions will occur here on the Chunkster Challenge blog in the following months: March, June, September and December. 
• Discussion questions will be posted to the blog beginning on the 15th day of each of those months and participants will discuss the book club read for that month in the comments section of each post. In general, discussions will run through the end of the month, but participants will be welcome to continue discussing the book for as long as there is interest.
• A Mr. Linky will be provided for participants to link to their reviews of the book.
• Participants in the Chunky Book Club do NOT need to join the Chunkster Challenge, although you are more than welcome to do both!

We have created a page on this blog dedicated to the Book Club where we will provide a schedule for the club and links to discussion posts and Mr. Linky posts (so participants can easily find them).

If you are interested in participating in the Chunky Book Club, please complete the poll below to vote for the four books you would be most interested in reading and discussing in 2012.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Please Welcome Vasilly!

We have a new administrator here for the Chunkster Challenge. Vasilly blogs at 1330V and has offered to come on board to help with the administration of the blog and challenge...which makes me very happy!

Vasilly and I are going to be putting our heads together and talking about how we do things here - so you may see some changes down the road.

How is everyone doing with the challenge? Remember this one runs through the end of January - so you still have plenty of time to reach your challenge goals!!

TWO Exceptions for Rules of 2011 Challenge

Thank you to those readers who pointed out that due to disability, some readers may have no choice but to use an e-reader or audiobook.

So there are exceptions for the rules of No audiobooks and No e-books as follows:

• Those readers who have a disability which excludes them from reading traditional books, may be excepted from the two rules and may substitute audio or e-books.
• If you fit the criteria for exception, please use the page count for the traditional book as your number of pages.
• You do NOT need to ask me for the exception. This challenge is based on the honor system. So if you have a disability, then take the exception and sign up as you normally would sign up.
  
• Please do not take the exception just because it is more convenient for you to listen to a book or use an e-reader, or because it is easier.You must actually have a disability in order to be eligible for the exception.

Hope this will put people at ease and clear up any misunderstandings.

The Controversy Around Reading E-Books

Since I have gotten several comments AND some emails complaining about the rule re: no e-books for this challenge, I thought I would address it in this post.

First of all, this challenge celebrates REAL books that are chunky. It is about holding an actual fat book in one's hand and reading it. Dana (who started the challenge) felt strongly about this, and so do I. I am a traditionalist at heart when it comes to books. I do not think it is a bad thing to celebrate an actual physical book. In my heart, I believe readers who are giving up the real thing to read digitally are missing out on something wonderful - the heft of a book in your hands, the smell of the pages, the tactile pleasure of an actual book. Part of why I am hosting this challenge is to challenge readers to pick up a REAL book with some weight and read it. That's the challenge.

Secondly, I have no idea how to translate number of pages in an e-book to number of pages in an actual book, and I don't really want to try to figure it out (so please don't start emailing me with formulas).

Someone mentioned that it takes longer to read an e-book than to read an actual book. I have no idea if that is accurate or how we would go about proving it ... But, regardless, it doesn't matter because how long it takes to read the book is not relevant. It is all about the page count.

I am very sorry that some people are upset with this rule. I know I am not making everyone happy, but I also feel okay about the guidelines. I don't think that every challenge needs to have the same flexibility - the idea of a challenge is to challenge you. For some, the challenge may be to put aside your digital reader and pick up a traditional book.

I suppose if every single person said they would not join because of this rule, I'd have to think about changing it (or maybe I would just not host The Chunkster anymore). But so far 44 people have signed up and do not have a problem with no e-books (and last year 189 bloggers participated and quite a few non-bloggers joined)...so it seems that it is a very small percentage of disgruntled readers who are complaining about not being able to use their electronic readers.

Bottom line: This is supposed to be fun. I don't get anything out of hosting this (and all the work it takes to keep the blog current) except that it is fun to read books with all of you. It is beginning to bum me out that so many people feel it necessary to complain about something that is completely voluntary as to whether or not you join. No one is saying you can't read fat books on e-readers...they just don't count for THIS particular challenge.

If I sound annoyed it is because I worked a very long day today, came home and started reading complaints about something that really and truly is a minor thing in the scope of life. So please, if you want to be upset, okay be upset...but don't tell me about it anymore because I am not changing the rules this year.

Announcement: New Page on Blog

I hope you are all having fun reading Chunksters...some of you have already finished and linked me to your reviews (thank you!). So, I wanted to let you all know I have started a new page on the blog where you can find Suggestions for Chunky Books...organized by page number with links to reviews (when they are available). Simply look just below the header and you will see the tab to find the page.

I hope you will find this a useful resource.

I will keep adding to this page as we go forward.

REMINDER: If you are posting a link on Mr. Linky for reviews, you MUST provide a perma-link directly to your REVIEW of the book. Do NOT give me links to the main page of your blog, your current reading list or anything else. Reviews only, please!!! I will be deleting any links which do not adhere to this policy!

2010 Challenge - Link Your Reviews...

**Please note - the linkies here are now CLOSED. To link to reviews for the 2011 Challenge, please go here.

Here is where you can give us a link to your reviews of the books you read for the challenge...but please remember, the challenge starts FEBRUARY 1st - any books read prior to this date do not count!!

I am planning to ultimately create a list of books which could be eligible for the chunkster challenge and I want to organize them by page count...so when you provide the link to your review, please use the following format:

YOUR NAME (Title of Book - page count)

Example: Wendy (Shantaram - 944)

When you provide your link on Mr. Linky, please link DIRECTLY to your review (not the main page of your blog). Links which only lead to the main blog will be deleted.

Finally, if you do not have a blog, please leave a comment telling me which book you read, your thoughts on it, and how many pages it was!

Thanks...and have fun!!!!

1. Melanie (Can You Forgive Her? - 898) 2. beastmomma (the blind assassin-521) 3. Lynne (THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE - 562) 4. Mel u-The Reading Life (The Woman in White)-617 5. Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums (Slaves in the Family) - 505 6. Mel u -The Reading Life (Jane Eyre-493) 7. Helen (The Far Pavilions - 960) 8. Lesley (Someone Knows My Name - 512) 9. Mel u-The Reading Life (The City of Dreaming Books-453) 10. Bibliofreak (The Forgotten Legion-509) 11. Cafeshree (Owl Killers - 495) 12. Amy (Blame-525 large-print pages) 13. Lynne (THE LOST SYMBOL - 509) 14. Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums (Wolf Hall - 532) 15. Beth (The Book of Negroes-470) 16. Wendy (Wolf Hall - 532) 17. Rose City Reader (Three Loves - 559) 18. Jeff (The Robber Bride - 466) 19. Allie-The Mill on the Floss-608 20. Kymmie (World Without End - 1014) 21. April (The Help - 451) 22. Shonna (Burmese Lessons - 463) 23. Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums (Naamah's Kiss - 645) 24. Babblings of a Belligerent Bibliophile (Museum of Innocence - 532) 25. Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums (The Swan Thieves - 564) 26. Cafeshree (Crimson Petal & the White 920) 27. Michelle's Masterful Musings (Dune - 535) 28. Mel u-The Reading Life(The Name of the Rose -501 pages) 29. Book Psmith (Great Expectations - 468) 30. Jeff (The black Hole War - 470) 31. Pam (Angle of Repose) 32. schatzi (The Group - 487) 33. schatzi (The Morland Dynasty: The Emperor 512) 34. Michelle's Masterful Musings (Little Dorrit - 852) 35. Juanita (Ulysses - 1040) 36. Matt (Creation - 593) 37. Helen (Drood - 775) 38. Wendy (The Children's Book - 675) 39. the little reader (Firefly Lane - 528) 40. Kaye-The Girl from Junchow-500 pages 41. Allie-Little Women-489 42. Mel u-The Reading Life (The Broken Tower: The Life of Hart Crane-492) 43. the little reader (The Great Hunt - 705) 44. Melissa (The Corrections - 568) 45. Kymmie (Sashenka - 511) 46. Kaye (The Russian Concubine-517) 47. Kaye (Sons of Fortune-562) 48. Pam (The Adventures of Augie March-586) 49. Mel u-The Reading Life (Villette -656) 50. Matt (City of Nets - 495) 51. Carin (Swan Thieves 565) 52. Carin (Outlander 853) 53. Jeff (A Perfect Spy - 475) 54. Helen (In a Far Country - 640) 55. the little reader (To Say Nothing of the Dog - 493) 56. Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums (Lonesome Dove - 945) 57. the little reader (The Poisonwood Bible - 576) 58. Miss Moppet (When Christ and His Saints Slept - 909)) 59. Jenny@All Lit Up (The Children's Book - 624) 60. Wendy (The Little Stranger - 463) 61. pinuccia (The Eye of the World - 800) 62. Caitlin @ chaotic compendiums (City of Night - 467) 63. Tracey (The Lacuna - 507) 64. Tracey (Cutting For Stone - 560) 65. Wendy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - 465) 66. Elena (A Distant Mirror-597) 67. Kaye (Russka-945) 68. Kymmie (The Time Traveler's Wife - 518) 69. Miss Moppet (Mistress of the Revolution - 514)) 70. Allie-Alias Grace-468 71. Kaye (The Founding-560) 72. Jenny@All Lit Up (The Balkan Trilogy - 1033) 73. Helen (Wild Swans - 650) 74. Matt's (Dangerous Pilgrimages - 528) 75. Cat (Blood Royal - 578) 76. Kymmie (Those Who Save Us - 479) 77. Allie-The Brothers Karamazov-796 78. Allie-The Count of Monte Cristo-1462 79. Laurie (The Beth Book, 528 p.)

80. Shonna (Crow Road - 501) 81. Miss Moppet (The King's Mistress - 560) 82. Becky from Page Turners (The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver - 507pg) 83. Becky from Page Turners (The Legacy by Kirsten Tranter - 438pg)) 84. Becky from Page Turners (The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James - 626pg) 85. Becky from Page Turners (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 636pg) 86. Helen (Tess of the D'Urbervilles - 464) 87. Bibliofreak (American American Gods 588) 88. Matt (Justinian - 640) 89. Becky from Page Turners (The Girl who Played with Fire - 569pg) 90. Becky from Page Turners (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 531pg) 91. Miss Moppet (To Defy a King - 516) 92. Carolyn (The Eustace Diamonds - 739) 93. Melanie (the Passage- 784) 94. Miss Moppet (The Rich Are Different - 568 and Sins of the Fathers - 660)) 95. Julie (New Moon - 563) 96. Alyce (The Post-Birthday World - 528) 97. Melanie (The Girl who Played with Fire- 724) 98. the little reader (The Things That Keep Us Here - 480) 99. Christina (Centennial) 100. Christina (Lancaster Brides) 101. elise (The Historian- 676) 102. Shonna The Passage - 766) 103. Feminist Texican (The Crime of Father Amaro - 480) 104. Pam (A House for Mr Biswas-564) 105. Dominique (The Knife of Never Letting Go- 496) 106. Cat ( New York - 1017) 107. Shonna (A Fierce Radiance - 527) 108. Elena (Plutarch-706 & The Small House at Allington-640) 109. Melwyk (Gaudy Night-557) 110. Melwyk (Green Dolphin Country-575) 111. Cafeshree (Evil Genius -537) 112. Cafeshree (Memoirs Highland Lady - 660) 113. Cafeshree (Girl w/Dragon Tattoo -644) 114. Cafeshree (Red Pyramid - 516) 115. Sumthinblue (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 608) 116. Kinna Reads (Wolf Hall - 535) 117. Tony (The Makioka Sisters - 530) 118. Tony (Barchester Towers - 499) 119. Tony (A House for Mr. Biswas - 564) 120. Tony (Doctor Thorne - 557) 121. Tony (Cloud Atlas - 529) 122. Tony (The Small House at Allington - 663) 123. Tony (The Slap - 496) 124. Tony (The Last Chronicle of Barset) 125. Tony (Oscar and Lucinda - 528) 126. Tony (The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - 469) 127. Dominique (The Children's Book - 615) 128. The Passage - 766 pgs (Jules' Book Reviews) 129. Tony (A Fine Balance - 614) 130. Sumthinblue (Millennium trilogy 2 &3 - 649 746 131. Miss Moppet (Calais - 767) 132. Matt (The Dominion of War - 544) 133. Wendy (Cutting for Stone - 688) 134. beastmomma (Nineteen Minutes-455) 135. Carolyn (Villette - 573) 136. Carolyn (Wives & Daughters - 648) 137. Melanie ( The Neutronium Alchemist, PT 1- 591) 138. Megan (The Bishop - 523) 139. Dominique (The Passage - 766) 140. Lynne (DEVIL'S BROOD - 730) 141. Lynne (HOUSE RULES - 532) 142. the little reader (Someone Knows My Name) 143. Melissa (Freedom - 562) 144. Alyce (The French Blue - 584) 145. Alyce (An Echo in the Bone - 832) 146. Cat(The Woman in White -574) 147. Julie (Lily White - 579) 148. Michelle (Dragonfly in Amber - 974) 149. Melwyk (Middlemarch -908) 150. Wendy (The Search - 488) 151. Laurie- (Anthropology of an American Girl- 624) 152. Jenny@All Lit Up (The Exception - 576) 153. Jenny@All Lit Up (The Lacuna - 507) 154. Jenny@All Lit Up (Museum of Innocence - 532) 155. Pam (Main Street-562) 156. Bibliophile (Oscar and Lucinda - 520) 157. Margaret (Her Mother's Hope - 450) 158. Margaret (Lassoed in Texas - 896)

159. Margaret (Charles Towne Belles - 960) 160. Margaret (A Hope Undaunted 505) 161. The Book Whisperer (East Lynne - 640) 162. The Book Whisperer (The Little Stranger - 512) 163. The Book Whisperer (The Help - 462) 164. The Book Whisperer (The Book of Negroes - 576) 165. The Book Whisperer (The Likeness - 704) 166. The Book Whisperer (A Room Swept White - 480) 167. The Book Whisperer (The Ice Cream Girls - 480) 168. beastmomma(The Help-464) 169. The Sixth Surrender (Jules) 170. Feminist Texican (Some Sing, Some Cry - 558) 171. Feminist Texican (Freedom - 562) 172. Julie (Shocking Pink-498) 173. Jules - (Ireland - 651) 174. Sumthinblue (Pillars of the Earth- 973) 175. Bibliophile (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - 800 ) 176. Matt (Sharks & Little fish - 505) 177. Miss Moppet (The People's Queen - 534) 178. Miss Moppet (Time and Chance - 496) 179. Miss Moppet (The Valley of Decision - 768) 180. Miss Moppet (The Mists of Avalon - 1024) 181. Miss Moppet (Chances - 608) 182. Sumthinblue (Grotesque - 467) 183. Elizabeth (Possession - 555) 184. Matt (To the Hermitage - 498) 185. Rose City Reader (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) 186. Rose City Reader (Echoes) 187. Miss Moppet (Legacy - 647) 188. Elizabeth (The Lacuna - 544) 189. Tony ('Devils' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 694) 190. Wendy (Freedom - 562) 191. Pam (Of Human Bondage-712) 192. The Spellsong Cycle by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. -- 2933 total pages (Alysha DeShaé) 193. Three Dan Brown Books -- 1417 total pages (Alysha DeShaé) 194. Julie (The Lost Symbol - 575) 195. Cat (Musashi-970) 196. Elizabeth (The House at Riverton-468) 197. Bibliophile (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - 800 ) 198. Pam (The Boys of Summer-474) 199. Tony (An Equal Music - 484 & American Gods - 635) 200. Carin (Outlander - 853) 201. Carin (The Swan Thieves - 565) 202. Carin (Schulz and Peanuts- 566) 203. Carin (Girl With Dragon Tattoo - 590) 204. Carin (A Short History of Nearly Everything - 544) 205. Carin (Cutting for Stone - 533) 206. Carin (Blue Latitudes - 496) 207. Carin (Gone With the Wind- 862) 208. Carin (At Home - 497) 209. Becky (Lady Anna, 560) 210. Becky (He Knew He Was Right, 992) 211. Becky (Blackout, 512) 212. Becky (Desiree, 608) 213. Becky (Emma Brown, 464) 214. Becky (Doctor Thorne, 639) 215. Becky (North and South, 452) 216. Becky (Pamela, 540) 217. Becky (Anna Karenina, 864) 218. Becky (Armadale, 880) 219. Becky (Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 496) 220. Becky (Bleak House, 912) 221. Becky (Moonstone, 544) 222. Becky (Doomsday Book, 592) 223. Tony (He Knew He Was Right, 823) 224. Tony (Buddenbrooks, 759) 225. Laurie (Marcella- 560) 226. Violette (A Suitable Boy-1,474) 227. Violette (Rembrandt Affair-484) 228. Violette (Company of Liars-465) 229. beastmomma(The Book Thief-550) 230. Shonna (The Forgotten Garden 549) 231. Aimee (The Sparrow - 502) 232. Aimee (The Likeness - 693) 233. Julie (Pet Sematary - 562) 234. Aimee (The Woman in White - 609) 235. Shonna (The Ship of Brides 482)

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Welcome To the Challenge: 2010

February 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011

Many thanks to Dana who has hosted this challenge for the past couple of years and has generously handed over the reins to me in 2010. I am keeping most of Dana's rules and definitions...Why? Because why fix something that isn't broken?!??!

Definition of a Chunkster:

• A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) ... A chunkster should be a challenge.
• If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more ... The average large type book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.

The Rules:

• No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.
• No e-Books allowed - we are reading traditional, fat books for this challenge.
  
• Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
• Books may crossover with other challenges
• Anyone may join. If you don't have a blog, just leave me a comment on this post with your progress (and to let me know you are playing)
• You don't need to list your books ahead of time.
  
• Once you pick a level, that's it...you're committed to that level!
  

You must pick a level of participation (thanks again to Dana for the humor in these categories!):

1. The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a couple of large tomes on their TBR list, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. 3 books is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 4 Chunksters over the next twelve months.
3. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

Some Other Questions you Might Have:

• To review or not to review, that is the quesion...Reviews are not mandatory, but they are strongly encouraged. I will be putting up a Mr. Linky at the beginning of the challenge for links to your reviews. I will also be posting a Mr. Linky for wrap up posts at the end of the challenge.
• Will there be prizes? Perhaps. I am still thinking on this...but I may consider some bookish giveaways as the challenge progresses! If I were you, I would subscribe to this blog just in case I announce something important.
• Is there anything else we need to know? Um, not that I can think of right now. But, lately I have been into being flexible. And I may decide to add some fun stuff to this blog, or even have a guest poster or two. Check back in occasionally (or subscribe to the feed) just in case!
  

To sign up, please use Mr. Linky below by linking DIRECTLY to your post about the challenge (please, please - do NOT link to your main blog page!!). If you do not have a blog, just enter your name in the name part of Mr. Linky and hit enter (also leave me a comment telling me which level of participation you will be doing).

1. wendy Booger Bottom Books 2. Booklover Book Reviews 3. Theresa 4. Paige 5. Kris 6. Rose City Reader 7. Carin (Caroline Bookbinder) 8. Jo 9. Chloe Connelly 10. Bea (How Novel!) 11. Caitlin (chaotic compendiums) 12. Sarah from Sarah's Books 13. otterevilreads 14. Brittanie (A Book Lover) 15. Book Snob Wannabe 16. The Inkwell 17. Chèli 18. eve 19. Honey (Coffeespoons) 20. Patti (Reading Distractions) 21. Shonna 22. MJ @ Creative Madness 23. Whitney {She is too fond of books} 24. Miss Moppet 25. Melissa 26. schatzi @ the stacks my destination 27. Cassandra - Adventist Homemaker 28. Mlle 29. Bcteagirl (Fabulous Canadian Freebies) 30. Kisha 31. Between the Covers 32. A Reader's Respite

33. Laura 34. Laurre 35. Nique (Nique's Life) 36. Kati Gormley 37. Pam (SocrMom78) 38. Manasa 39. Jeff 40. Amanda (Life in a Suitcase) 41. Jenny 42. Darlene 43. Kymmie 44. Megan 45. Boof (The Book Whisperer) 46. Allie-A Literary Odyssey 47. Manasa 48. Elena (roots of mountains) 49. Tracey (A Book Sanctuary) 50. Tweezle@Just One More Paragraph 51. Rachel (Beyond Words Book Club) 52. Eva (A Striped Armchair) 53. Dominique (Coffee Stained Pages) 54. Dreadful Penny 55. Becky (Page Turners) 56. Susie (All Things Royal) 57. Pam (iwriteinbooks) 58. Matt (Matt's Book Blog) 59. pinuccia 60. Juanita (Life at Home) 61. The Morland Dynasty: The Emperor 62. Kristen (BookNAround) 63. Melissa (Avid Reader) 64. Kinna Reads

65. the little reader 66. The Feminist Texican [Reads] 67. Jo's Bookshelf (Johanna) 68. Carolina 69. Julie (Reading Without Restraint!) 70. larissabookgirl 71. kdreader 72. Sumthinblue 73. damnvixen 74. Funandfearless 75. Dead White Guys 76. Carolyn (A Few of My Favourite Books) 77. Stepford Mum 78. Moony 79. Jenn @ Once Upon a Time... 80. Judith (Reader in the Wilderness) 81. Joy Renee @ Joystory 82. iusepseudonyms 83. iusepseudonyms 84. Zoe 85. Tony's Reading List 86. Notorious Spinks Talks 87. Donna 88. Meg (BeNonsensical) 89. Bibliophile (Reading in Reykjavik) 90. Alysha DeShaé 91. Julie (Reading Without Restraint) 92. Elizabeth (Beyond the Brush) 93. Orly (My Wuthering Heights) 94. Abigail 95. Martha G

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