The Sunday Salon -- Checking in with the Challenges and Links

Happy Sunday everyone!

It occurred to me that I host some challenges and that it was time to check in on them.

The Beth Kephart challenge wrapped up on June 30th, but I received some requests to extend it, and so I shall! We'll let it end on December 31st, 2010 Hopefully, a few of you will be able to add a book or two to your list. :)

The L.J. Smith challenge: The Vampire Diaries will wrap up on August 31st, 2010. I have decided we'll read The Forbidden Game trilogy for the next year. I will, however, start recapping The Vampire Diaries TV show on a weekly basis. It will be much easier for me to do that now that LOST is over (SOB!) I will add a Mister Linky to the posts so if you recap the show as well you can add it.

Speaking of LOST, Heather and I decided to extend the LOST Books challenge. It will be a perpetual challenge now. Please head over to the blog and check it out..you can add your reviews as well as post tidbits about LOST now that it's over and all the things the cast is up to.

Buy One Book and Read It is still going strong.

Upcoming

I had so much fun with the Gone with the Wind readalong that I've decided to start doing these readalongs twice a year. This fall, I'll be hosting a readalong for Lonesome Dove, starting in October. Please mark your calendars and don't tell me I didn't give you enough time!


Links
Two weeks worth, though, I barely had time to read blogs this past week. Sometimes people ask me if I sleep and let me tell you how it goes. This past week I slept like 3 hours a night and then Saturday, I kid you not, I slept ALL DAY. I woke up at 4:30 PM. I didn't even know it was physically possible to sleep that long. So anyway, it's my own fault because I'm trying to wrap up some major work projects, as well as work on major blogging projects like BBAW and the INSPYs. And yes, I know if say, the reason I wasn't sleeping was because I had a newborn I wouldn't have the option of sleeping in on Saturday to make up for it!

So! Noteworthy Links!

Beth Kephart blogs about the book trailer dilemma and what a dilemma it is. I talk to people who frequently hate book trailers but just because you might hate them doesn't mean they aren't actually playing a huge role in book marketing today. What does an author do who doesn't have a massive budget?

One of the new problems presented by ebooks has to do with territorial rights. Even while an ebook may be available in English, it may not be available in your country. Read from a literary agent why this might be.

The fabulous Lenore is bringing dystopian fiction month back in August. She really likes dystopian fiction if you didn't know, enough to focus two whole months out of the year on it. She's introducing a community component so be sure to check it out!

I really enjoyed Alyce's reflection on The Long Winter as part of her "My Favorite Reads" feature. Enjoying The Long Winter as a child was maybe a sign of things to come for me...enjoying apocalyptic and dystopian works!

This ode to Reese's is something I can get behind.

I haven't managed to finish The Road yet, but this analysis of the two reactions to the book made me think of the general reaction to dystopian books or books that deal with any incredibly heavy subject matter. I also really want to read Terry DeHart's The Unit.

This NeigborGoods idea seems good in theory but I'm not sure how it would actually work out. What do you think?

I saw Knight and Day was pleasantly surprised by how much fun it was. I enjoyed this blog post on whether or not an actor's press can ruin their movies. I think yes it can, if I have a hard time divorcing the onscreen character from all the stuff going through my head about their constant presence in the media.

Also loved this post from author Tess Gerritsen about being a real American girl. I'm looking forward to Rizzoli & Isles starting this week.

I might read my first LDS book! I really liked Susan's review of a book called The Silence of God and I think the history sounds quite interesting. On a related note, I enjoy Susan's series about Mormon mentions. I'm not Mormon, but I love the idea of pointing out where literature gets it right about people of faith and when it doesn't.

Jenny asks the question, What is Historical Fiction? I think lots of books cross genres, don't you?

Why is Speculative Fiction is under-represented in Christian fiction? I think this is actually a good question since the likes of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien are always held up as these excellent examples of Christians writing fiction.

Pro-Blogger's post on how preparing a sermon is similar to writing blog posts made me laugh because I've often thought about the similarity in the two.

Last Bits of News
THRILLED with the Emmy nods for LOST! Especially for Matthew Fox and Elizabeth Mitchell.

The full Comic-Con schedule should be up by well maybe by the time you read this. Once again, if you're a bookish person planning to be there, please fill out this form.

Thank you all for your supportive comments on my letter to Barnes & Noble and Borders. Ari is organizing a letter writing campaign. Please add your own voices to the mix if you feel the same way.

Have a great Sunday all! Do you have plans to read anything great or maybe watch a movie? How will you keep cool?