Book Chatter

Molly over at My Cozy Book Nook came up with this neat challenge. I saw “Summer Vacation” in the title and that’s all I needed to jump on the bandwagon.

Here’s a bit of Molly’s post. If you’d like to join in, click here:

Summer Vacation Reading Challenge:
I love to travel, but with the economy the way it is, a get-away summer vacation is not in the budget this year. However, books are very affordable (and libraries add new meaning to the phrase “price is no object”). I anticipate taking many ‘literary’ vacations over the course of the next few months, and I hope you can join me as well.

Dates: Friday, May 22 – Monday, September 7, 2009 (Memorial Day weekend – Labor Day weekend)

Requirements: Summer vacations are meant to be relaxing and fun – not stressful. However, some people interpret “fun” by doing nothing but going to the beach and vegging out — while others like to maximize their sight-seeing adventures. To that end, I have developed two different levels of participation:

Beach Bumb: you will read 3 books during this time frame (a leisurely book-a-month); cross-over book selections from other challenges may count; and you do not have to list books in advance — after all, summer vacation is a time for spontaneity.
Globe Trotter: you will commit to reading 6 pre-selected books during this time frame, but you may substitute up to 3 books due to changes in travel plans. Cross-overs for 5 out of the 6 books are allowed, but ideally one book will be read for this challenge alone.

I’m pretty sure I will sign up as a Beach Bum. Once the challenge begins, my books will be posted here:

1. Foreign Tongue by Vanina Marsot

2. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

3. The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine

4. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

My Review Policy is as follows:

1. I enjoy literary fiction, historical fiction, women’s fiction but not straight “chick lit”, children’s literature, memoirs, travel narratives and some non-fiction, depending on the subject. I do not review much YA but will consider a title depending on the plot. I have enjoyed some literary horror as well. Here are a few books that I’ve really enjoyed: The Terror, East of Eden, The Meaning of Night, The Devil in the White City, Prodigal Summer, In The Woods, Star of the Sea, Mister Pip, Very Valentine, The Road, Relic, The Prudent Mariner.

2. Books that are sent to me will be reviewed within a reasonable time frame (2-6 months) unless the author/publisher has asked me beforehand to review it by a certain date. That said, most of books that I receive are reviewed within 2-3 months.

3. I reserve the right to divorce the book after 50 pages if the content is not what I expected it to be.

4. Reviews may contain negative criticism.

5. I reserve the right to use the book cover illustration as well as excerpts from the book in my review as stated under Fair Use.

6. I reserve the right to link the book back to any online bookseller of my choosing. Typically, it will be Barnes & Noble.

7. Reviews may contain a link to the author/publisher’s web site, the author’s photo or a link to the author’s blog. However, there is no guarantee that these links WILL be included.

8. Reviews are posted on my blog Book Chatter and Other Stuff as well as Goodreads, Library Thing, Facebook and Twitter. I will post a review on Amazon if requested to do so.

9. If a book is sent to me by an author/publisher, I will send them a notification email or Tweet once the review has posted.

10. I do not sell books that are sent to me whether they are ARCs or RCs. However, I reserve the right to give them away (on my blog, or personally). An ARC will not be given away until after its posted publication date.

11. I do not accept self-published books for review but I reserve the right to review them on my own if a title strikes me.

12. I do not review e-books.

13. I will only respond to review inquiries that interest me and ones that I feel fit my blog profile.

14. Blog content can only be used with my permission.

If you have any questions or would like to run a book by me, please contact me:

Ti’s Contact Info

Email: booktime@yahoo.com

Twitter: TiBookChatter

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