Before I share some of the cool things I found on other blogs this week, I wanted to invite you to take part in my new poll (see above) on what books I should read for my 2009 Mini Challenges, which include these two challenges:

• Read a book outside your comfort level or from a genre you don’t normally read. Blog about it, or tell the group about it.
• Read a classic (defined as anything published before 1970). Tell us why it fits the category of being a classic. Write a review or tell the group about the book.

The other day, I downloaded some free e-books to my new Kindle — primarily “classics” that I’ve never gotten around to reading. I plan to read two of these for this challenge, but I would like some feedback from people who may have read these books. So please take a moment and vote. I will read the two books that get the most votes for these two parts of the challenge. (I also downloaded Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, which I will read for the part of the challenge that asks you to read a play and blog about it.)

And thanks for much for everyone’s comments on my Kindle 2 review. I will continue to write about my experiences as there definitely seems to be some interest in this topic! So now for some interesting reading-related links that I’ve found during the past week.

Getting Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) and Review Books

Did you ever wonder how you could get books to review — including books that haven’t been published yet? The wonderful Alyce over at At Home With Books wrote a wonderful post about it earlier this week. I knew about some of these resources (like LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program) but not all. So if this is something that interests you, be sure to visit Alyce by clicking here. Be sure to read the comments too as Alyce’s readers also shared some resources.

Bookish Scavenger Hunt

One of my favorite book blogs, Padfoot and Prongs, is sponsoring a really fun scavenger hunt focused on reading. You have about 1 to 3 months to complete their list of 10 challenges, and you don’t need to have a blog to participate. Besides sounding completely fun, they are also offering prizes, includingg any gift of your choice off of Amazon (value equalling no more than 25$ USD). Here are just a few of the fun things that are on the list:

• Make a mix tape or CD (or just list) of songs that you think would be the ‘soundtrack’ of your favorite book.
• Go to a used book store and find a book with something written in it. Take a picture and send it to us.
• Read one book off of the New York Times best seller list. Write a review about why or why not this book deserves to be on the list.
• Think of you FAVORITE novel. Now think of all of the characters that are important. Now think of any famous actors, singers, drag queens… who would fit the roles. Be a director and create your own “dream cast.”

Doesn’t that sound like fun! I signed up and am going to try and post my accomplishments on this blog as I get them done. If you want to sign up, just follow the red link above.

What Book Would You Become?

Elizabeth over at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves was inspired by her recent reading of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 to start a new feature called 451 Fridays. In her post, she writes:

I’m intrigued by the idea of a group of people dedicated to keeping the ideas of books alive by “becoming” those books – actually memorizing, word for word, the books they are most passionate about, to keep them from being forgotten….Which book would you choose to “become”?

She is looking for interested folks who would like to write about the 5 books they believe are important enough to be saved (and why) and then to choose one book from the list they would want to become. Would you like to participate and answer this question? Head on over and let Elizabeth know by clicking here. I hope to do this but I am stymied about what book to choose! I hope inspiration will come soon. If you want to read the very first 451 Friday (written by Elizabeth’s mom), click here.

Daily Lit – Reading Online in Bits and Pieces

A big thank you to BookGirl at Bookgirl’s Nightstand for her recent post about Daily Lit, which I had never heard of but sounded intriguing when I read her post. Basically, Daily Lit offers the opportunity to read books online by getting short installments by daily email (or RSS feed). Their slogan is “Great stories and knowledge in under 5 minutes a day.” Isn’t that interesting? There are free books and books you pay a small fee for, but you can usually start with a free sample to see how you like it. Intrigued? Just click on the red links above to either read Bookgirl’s experience or to go to Daily Lit directly.

Scene of the Blog

Do you like seeing where your favorite book bloggers work their magic? Would you like to show others where you work your magic? If you haven’t seen it already, Cathy over at Kittling Books has started a great new series called “Scene of the Blog,” which invites book bloggers to share photos and information about their blogging workspace. It has been fun to see these posts each week, and Cathy was kind enough to invite me to participate (I’ll let you know when my turn comes up). This week’s post focused on the wonderful Alyce of At Home With Books. Click on over Cathy’s blog to catch up with more of these fun posts!