Wednesday 31 December 2014

Deal Me In Challenge 2015





Okay, only one more challenge ....... really ..........!  Jay at Bibliophilica is having his yearly Deal Me In challenge and it looks like such fun, I couldn't resist.  I've been watching Dale @ Mirror With Clouds participate all last year, and Marianne gave me an idea with a twist for it that should work wonderfully!

The rules are:

What is the goal of the project?
To read 52 short stories in 2015 (that’s only one per week)
What do I need?
1) Access to at least fifty-two short stories (don’t own any short story collections or anthologies? See links to online resources below)
2) A deck of cards
3) An average of perhaps just thirty minutes of reading time each week
Where do I post* about my stories?
(*You don’t have to post about every single story, of course, but if you have something to say about the story you read any given week, your fellow participants would love to hear it.)
1) On your own blog or website if you have one (I will link to your post at the bottom of my weekly post. I currently plan to do my weekly post on Sundays)
2) if you don’t have a blog or website you may comment on my weekly post, sharing thoughts on your own story – or start one at WordPress or blogspot – it’s easy and free to create a basic blog.
How do I pick which stories to read?
(The 52 stories themselves are totally up to you.) Before you get start reading, come up with a roster of fifty-two stories (you can use any source) and assign each one to a playing card in a standard deck of cards. It can be fun to use different suits for different types of stories, but that is optional. Each “week,” (if you’re like me, you may occasionally fall a story or two behind) you draw a card at random from your deck and that is the story you will read. There are links to last year’s participants’ rosters here if you want to see some examples.
What if I don’t have time to read a story every single week?
Try one of the challenge variations noted below, the Fortnight (or “payday” if you prefer) version is one story every two weeks or the “Full Moon Fever” version with just thirteen stories read or selected on seeing each full moon…
How do I sign up?
Leave a comment below with your URL and I will link you. My first wrap-up post of the year (I post weekly, usually Sunday night or Monday morning) will include links to any new Deal Me In posts and a list of the participants with links to their roster of stories.
What is the purpose?
To have FUN and to be exposed to new authors and stories and maybe get in the habit of reading a short story a week. Isn’t that enough? :-)


Now I've decided to follow Marianne's lead and adjust the challenge to work for my reading plans for the year.  Part of my plan for 2015 was to try to read more children's classics, essays and poems for the year, so instead of reading all short stories, I'm going to split it into four categories:  Short Stories, Essays, Poems and Children's Classics.  

I'm really looking forward to this challenge.  In the next day or so, I'll post my list of titles corresponding to the playing card deck.  I'm not promising I'll be able to read all 52 of them, but I'll certainly do my best!

13 comments:

  1. Welcome to DMI, Cleo! I'm looking forward to your list and to your posts. Children stories will be fascinating and lately, I've been thinking about reading more essays.
    -Dale

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    1. I don't know why I find it so hard to pick up a children's book, because I love them, but somehow they get lost in the other books and left. This twist in the challenge will make me get to them, so I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for being part of the inspiration for me to join the challenge!

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  2. YAY! I'm excited to see your list & love your categories. :)

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    1. Thanks for the push, Marianne. I'm working on my list today!

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  3. I've enjoyed reading posts for this challenge too and really tempted to join in this year but decided I would never keep up with the posting so I will just do it for myself.

    Happy New Year, Cleo

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    1. Cat, I think Jay's rules are quite open in that you don't have to post about everything you read and there are two other levels that allow for 2 short stories per month and even one. In any case, doing it for yourself certainly takes the pressure off but I would love to see your list! :-)

      New Year's Greetings to you too!

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    2. Me too, Cat. :-)

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  4. Replies
    1. Isn't it? Could you do this with your project, or would it mess up your schedule too much?

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    2. I'm going to find time to squeeze it in. I'll have details on my blog sometime in the next few days.

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    3. Yay, Peder! I can't wait to see your list!

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  5. Very informative, keep posting such good articles, it really helps to know about things.

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    1. I'm so glad that you find it helpful. And a big welcome to my blog! :-)

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