2011 Where Are You Reading Challenge

This one is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey and it seems a little unattainable for me, but I am going to try it just for fun to see how do, I may surprise myself.

This Challenge starts January 1, 2011 – December 31st 2011.  The Challenge consists of reading at least one book that covers each of the 50 states of America and you can add as many other countries as you like.

So how do you decide what state a book is categorized under?

1.  In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in.  (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)
2.  Non fiction reads categorize  in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

How to get started

Set up a map under Google Maps.  It is easy to do!  Every time you read a book in 2011, upload a cover picture to Picasa Web Albums (there may be other sites to use, feel free to use what works best for you).

Questions?

Do you have to have a blog to participate? No.  You can do everything on the map above without linking the book to a review.
Do I have to have my post up by January 1st, 2011? No, but I would think you would want to get started right away at the beginning of the year.  However, you will be able to sign up throughout January as well.

How will people see my map? There are a couple of possibilities.  On your original challenge post you should have a link to your map.  You could also put it on your side bar to draw interest to it (see mine on my left side bar)

Once you are ready and have your map set up please create a blog post (those who have blogs) using the Challenge picture of the map I provided above as well as link to this post so others may join in.  Then come back and link that post here to Mr Linky so I as well as other participants know that you are participating and we can pop in throughout the year to check out your map and how we are all doing.

This is actually a fun and easy challenge as all books you read qualify and it will be fun to see where you generally read books from as well as searching out books to fill in areas that you need.

For those who have covered the 50 states by the end of 2011, they will go into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble or to Amazon.  **  All other areas beyond the 50 states are bonus points and we will have a drawing using random.org for those who read 10 or more books throughout 2011 in that category.
 
You can see Sheila's map I worked on in 2010 here to see what the map looks like and how the pictures link to the reviews.  (If you zoom in you will see the individual areas I read in and clicking on the blue pins will show you what book it was and clicking on the picture will take you to the post!

That’s it!  Any questions – please leave them in the comments section on Sheila's blog. 

I can’t wait to see Where You Are Reading!

Here's my map:

View 2011 Where Are You Reading Challenge in a larger map

Blank right now, but I can't wait to start filling it up!!

If you think this is a challenge you would like to try, set up your map and 

head over to Sheila's and sign up!