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CHALLENGE GUIDELINES**PLEASE READ**

The challenge is to count the pages you read (books, e-books count from BOM and challenges can count. Using the printed edition page count to count the # of pages in e-books and audiobooks is OK too!). Start counting pages in any book read, from wherever you are in a book when the new challenge starts (even if you have to guess back to where you were at the time). All other books can be counted as you read them. Whoever has the most pages read by challenge end gets a reward for themselves. The catch? NO BOOK BUYING DURING THE CHALLENGE. If you decide to join this little mini challenge you cannot purchase any books during the time of the challenge. Although the point is to EARN your books =). Sometimes books are already on the way to you through: Wishlist swaps or pre-orders. These books are OK! Count the front and back pages, and add date to keep track of the title of the book read. This # should go next to the title [see examples on the currents posts:]. The winner picks the next Count Off Challenge. The pages counted will tally back to zero for new challenge. New comers, later comers you can join anytime but you start at zero. You are more than welcome to continue keeping track of original pages counted for personal reference.

This is more about sticking with reading down that TBR pile. Trying to keep those book buying impulses to a min. and counting pages really is a simple task that requires very little skill =P Any questions on how the guidelines work or what to do to join a challenge, please post a comment or PM me [Kenjii:].

Mini/Bonus-Challenge

Here is a way to get small rewards. As a host you are responsible for giving the rewards. Post on the thread a theme to be read during the current challenge. If someone can fulfill that challenge, they win! Then they can choose to host the next mini challenge.

An additional note to bonus challenges:
Occassionally a count off challenge may include a bonus (or two). This is where you can get double (or triple) the page count for a single book, provided it meets the bonus criteria. The criteria may be certain word(s) in the title, on the cover (or both), or in subject matter. You may specificially look for books that fit the bonus, to get the extra page counts, as this encourages you to read the theme of that particular challenge.

Misc./Addt.'l guidlines

New comers, later comers you can join anytime but you can only count the pages you read during the time frame of the current challenge.

All finished books must be dated and partial reads must have the last pages read . So you can have that page to refer back to.

If you purchase a book during a challenge, you can: A) Re-set your count to zero and continue in the challenge OR B) Sit out until the next challenge.

um, what about library books?
Is there a period for this? eg. 1 Feb to 28 Feb?
Can you start reading before 1 Feb but only count the pages you read on 1 Feb & after?

Hmmm...how many pages do we need to read before we get a pass to buy a book?...LOL..

Sorry, ladies. I know myself well enough to know I absolutely can't do this one! :) Besides I have a credit to use at Borders that's only good for Feb., and I'm darn sure gonna use it!

Good challenge, Knejii. Luck to y'all.

I feel you Sarah! I am always buying up books each month hehe its an addiction :(

I figure if I'm gonna have an addiction, this is the one to have. I'm curious to see how many pages you guys can read.

Should we set a deadline? Like 1000 pages by Feb. 15th or something? I know it will only take 3-4 books to equal 1000 pages but it's who gets there first. The winner can set the page and amount and prize. If you want to say unlimited pages by Feb 20th (whoever has the highest amount of pages read) will get to buy x number of books. It is all about trying to control that urge. This will get that TBR pile read down and in the process =)

I'll have to skip this one. I am on a very limited fixed income as a single mother of 3 kids so I can't afford to buy books very often. My one indulgence is the friends of the library annual book sale one weekend every summer where books are just 50 cents each. (On sunday, whatever's left is $1/bag). This same group is having a romance book sale over valentine's weekend at the library, so I've got to go!! lol No bag sale, but with romances at 50 cents each, I've got to go look!! I know I'll find something. (This is why my TBR list is so big on here, and I still have a ton of old serial romance novels I've not listed and probably won't.)

BriansGirl, you do what you can with what you got. i am glad to you are able to what you can when you. For you. Being a single mother is hard for sure.

Kenjii wrote: "BriansGirl, you do what you can with what you got. i am glad to you are able to what you can when you. For you. Being a single mother is hard for sure.
"

Thanks Kenjii. I always look forward to their sales as its the one time I can afford to buy books. At 50 cents each they add up quicker than you think, lol. At the summer, I usually get a couple bags for $1. Everyone is just grabbing books for that sale and I just grab romance novels based on the color of the harlequin series. Before I check out, I stop and stuff the paper grocery sack carefully. The width is exactly the height of a paperback and if you pack the bag like a brick, lol, you can get 60+ books into a bag for $1. All of the books are donated every year so you never know what you'll find, some new and alot old. But at 50 cents a book, always worth a look. This is how I put together collections of my favorite authors and sometimes find old out-of-print books.

I can keep track of my page count though along with the rest of you since I've got several books to read for our challenges.

Feb Page Count as of Feb 2: 145

I know how it is to be on a book budget, and right now, mine is almost non-existent.

My only saving grace is I belong to an excellent library system, that has an excellent selection of books and great service. I treat them like my book version of Netflix. I browse their online catalog, request the books, and they deliver them to my doorstep.

If not for them, I don't know how I'm going to feed my book addiction and my family..LOL..

I consider myself fortunate to be able to purchase the books I read.. considering I read rather fast.

Though I dont go out, or have literally anything else I spend my money on so I guess thats why I can hehe.

i guess i should set up a format like Yz does, hehe, so everyone is on the same page *snickers*

For the page report. When your done reading the book(or currently reading, b/c those page#'s count literally) name the title of the book and put the pages in parenthesis next to it. Ex: Witchling(400). You count front and back so using the "pages" system from PBS won't help.

Yz: I am going to set that up soon. I that doing that!

Tricia: I know I have an addiction when it comes to books. I have a fun money budget that would go straight to books if not for starting my diet last year. LOL. I just canNOT believe the amount of books I have amassed. So this is just a way to up the ante I suppose =D

Currently Reading;
Pleasure Unbound(1oo)
Working for the Devil(94)
Halfway to the Grave(114)
totals 308 pages read

Finished Reading:
The Bride's Baby (129)
Roadside Americana (128)
Currently Reading:
I Know You Got Soul (15)
Joy in the Morning (11)
Total 283 pages read

Is it a personal set of goals as to how many pages read by certain dates?

Sorry, I'm confused :(

Sorry ladies Yz, Karen: I hadn't noticed your earlier posts. I am correcting the MAIN post to reflect your questions. Ok? But I will answer you here. Yz the max. # of pages will be 1,000 by FEB 15th. The winner chooses the next challenge. If you are reading a from PREVIOUS month and FINISH it in FEB. you can count those pages. But any other books started in FEB. you can count those pages as you read them. Make sense? If it gets to complicated let me know. I want this fun nto confusing. Sorry for the delay I was in bed with a cold, and then I did not see the posts! LOL!

It will be easy to see who wins before the 15th by posting ur numbers, but u don't have to update your numbers unless you want to. If you don't reach a 1,000 the person with the highest # of pages wins!

Finished
Stay The Night (317p)
At Graves End (324p)
Vampire Kisses (240p)

Total pages read 881

Karen: I am sorry but I don't understand your question. The only goal for now is to reach 1,000 pages read. The dead line is FEB. 15th or whoever is first.

Currently Reading;
Pleasure Unbound(1oo)
Working for the Devil(94)
Halfway to the Grave(114)
totals 308 pages read
Witching x(51)
new total
359 pages read

WTG Jael! 881 pages read is putting you closer to #1!

TY Kenjii I've been trying to breeze through my Challenge reads which is at I believe 16 so I can read my NR books that I have waiting. I like this challenge since at the end of the year I can just come back to this thread to see my total pages read.

Jael: When I started this about August 2008 maybe. I had totaled up my pages to like 25,000. It's crazy looking at your reading like that!

lol yeah it my mom fault that I devour books like that. 300 has always been a oneday read for but only if the book is good. This is the firstyear I'll be counting pages.

Jael: Yes. My man Brian Keene is my "crack author" as they say. I read his first 4 books I got my hands on the first day. I re-read 2 of them. They are on my keeper shelf. My pages read to date count is something like 2200.

Currently Reading;
Pleasure Unbound(1oo)
Working for the Devil(94)
Halfway to the Grave(114)
totals 308 pages read
Witchling x(51)
new total 359
Dark Lover(63)
new total 422

Finished
Stay The Night (317p)
At Graves End (324p)
Vampire Kisses (240p)
Vampire Academy (336p)

Total pages read 1217pages

Jael wins! With 1217 pages read. Prize? You can buy yourself 1 book =). Winner picks next Count Off Challenge. Include page goal, deadline and prize. Feel free to continue your totals. See how many pages you can read in a day, month, year!

do the pages we've already read rollover or do our count start over?

Next Challege read 2000 pages by February 23rd. Winner gets to Buy 2 books

If it sounds fair to everyone I'd like to just let the pages rollover. It'll be like a neverending challenge that way. Except someone new will have the chance to win and make up the next challenge. Sound fair?

Pages read for new challenge:

Dark Lover(56)
Pleasure Unbound(20)
new totals 76

Here's what I've read since 1 Feb til today:

Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff (paperback) - 85 pages (finished)

William Pitt the Younger: A Biography by William Hague (hardback) - 106 pages (finished)

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (paperback) - 339 pages (finished) + 10 pages (chic lit tag bonus)

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (audiobook - mp3 files) - 384 pages for the hardcover edition (finished)

Nothing in my hand I bring by Ray Galea (paperback) - 104 pages (finished)

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (ebook = 257/2032*624) - 79 pages (ongoing)

Bad Boy by Stephen Gray (Hardback) - 34 pages (ongoing)

Total: 1141 pages

Kenjii wrote: "Jael wins! With 1217 pages read. Prize? You can buy yourself 1 book =). Winner picks next Count Off Challenge. Include page goal, deadline and prize. Feel free to continue your totals. See how many..."

Congrats, Jael. Do let us know which book you bought yourself as a prize :)

I'm not sure how good I'm going to be with this challenge since I'm horrible with numbers...LOL..

Just finished Noah 471 pages

That is OK Yz just post. If there is a mistake we'll make sure to correct it =) Just join in and have fun! Welcome Karen and Yz to the challenge. We are on challenge 2 now: 2000 pages read by FEB. 23rd.

End of day totals 2-5-09

Karen 1171*
Yz 471
Kenjii 76

*Karen's new to the challenge and her total reflects her page count from FEB. 1st. Since she is a first timer I will allow her to join the challenge with her total page count. Others can let me know if this seems fair. Remember these choices become apart of the challenge.

Kenjii wrote: "End of day totals 2-5-09

*Karen's new to the challenge and her total reflects her page count from FEB. 1st. Since she is a first timer I will allow her to join the ch..."

oh! sorry, I thought when you said 'rollover' that means you're bringing the number of pages forward from the last challenge??
Or at least that's what I under the term 'rollover' to mean - it could mean something different where you are?

Karen wrote: "Kenjii wrote: "Jael wins! With 1217 pages read. Prize? You can buy yourself 1 book =). Winner picks next Count Off Challenge. Include page goal, deadline and prize. Feel free to continue your total..."

Thanks Karen I bought Bone Crossed by Briggs I had to wait until it was available in my bookclub can't wait to read it.

Finished
Vampires Are Forever (384p)
Undead and Uneasy (288p)
Total 4 this challenge 672
Overall Total 1889

No each new challenge starts the count over, just to be fair for others who join in the middle.

Dark Lover(56)
Pleasure Unbound(20)
new totals 76
Deathbringer(85)
new totals: 161 for challenge #2
overall total: 585

Just a note. I think to be fair if you start the challenge you start from zero. I know this is harder if we have been playing 2-3 days but the thing is this:
-If your tracking your pages from who knows when that does not fit within the time frame of the challenge.
-I am allowing anyone to play, so late starters will have just as good a chance to play as anyone else. You may have already bought a book but from that point on you have to follow the rules which means a zero count at the start of the challenge.

You can agree to disagree this is fair but a fresh start for each challenge is better than this one starts here and that one starts there. See how everyone was getting confused? So I am adding that to the challenge guidelines. Anything posted in the thread is a suggestion. Such as the rollover idea. Anything posted in the guidelines will be what we follow. This is exciting and I am glad to have anyone to compete with. I want that book! LOL!

Tip: When I am counting a book that I have not finished. I have a piece a paper and count the pages read. Record those pages on GR. Then cross out the pages and write the next page# and start from there. So as to not lose my counting place.

Tip: When a winner is posted (even BEFORE the challenge is over). The challenge is over the page count goes back to zero. Just like in bingo. Clear the board =)

Finished
Vampires Are Forever (384p)
Undead and Uneasy (288p)
Total 4 this challenge 672
Overall Total 1889

I havn't kept good count but it's probably around 200 pages. Everyone else is gonna be far past me. lol

Ok, then from 5 Feb, I've read:

The Dancer Upstairs (244 pages)
Bad Boy (262 pages)
Chinese Cinderella (205 pages)
Total: 711 pages

Finished
Vampires Are Forever (384p)
Undead and Uneasy (288p)
Enforcer (143p)
Undead and Unworthy(304p)
Total 4 this challenge 1119p
Overall Total 2336

I probably won't post everyone's totals everyday but glad to see challengers =) Have fun!