#BookReviewBlogChallenge

Welcome to Day 01 of #BookReviewBlogChallenge. Today’s prompt is “Dreams & Ambitions”.

Before I begin, thank you to everyone who participated already and commented on the welcome post. So many amazing books, they all made me smile and added a sparkle to my day! Special shout-outs to:

  • Isabella for the stunning book cover for Sarah Maas book, and
  • Camilla for choosing the cheerful Matilda by Quentin Blake

For today’s challenge, I am going with a memoir that really should be made into a movie! 🙂 This book is a perfect muse for the “Dreams & Ambitions” theme, as I would love to be as bold and vivacious as Iris and look back at life (at 60+) with the same joy and wonder, and minimal regrets! 

  • Title – Iris Apfel accidental icon
  • SubTitle – Musings of a Geriatric Starlet
  • Author – Iris Apfel

This book is an autobiography and memoir of the vivacious and brilliant Iris Apfel. The author is an American businesswoman, interior designer, and 98-year old fashion icon! The book is filled with many interesting thoughts and stunning photographs of a life well-lived.

REVIEW SCORE = 5/5 *****

Thoughts on this Book:

Iris Apfel - day 01 #BookReviewBlogChallenge for prompt Dreams & Ambitions

For those who have never heard of this amazing personality, let me start by saying that the author’s list of accomplishments is more numerous than her birthday candles next year! Some highlights from her life, which most impressed me, are as follows:

  • Pioneer reporter
  • Interior designer and decorator for the White House, for 9 different US Presidents! Whoa!
  • She has her own line of cosmetics with the global brand M.A.C, and she modeled it too! Probably the oldest model to ever do so!
  • Fashion icon – with 1.4M followers on Instagram!
  • Her designs are displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA), one of the most prestigious temples for anyone in the art and creative industry.
  • She even has a Barbie doll designed after her!

The book itself has infectious joie de vivre and pearls of wisdom you would hear from a loving and extremely “cool” grandmother. Naysayers will point out that she was fortunate to be born into a rich, business family. I will remind them that in the 1940s, US had limited rights for women, so it is still inspiring to see the trailblazing paths the author has tread!

The best takeaways I divined from the book is that Iris Apfel was never scared of failing or looking stupid (something we all suffer from!). Instead of choosing the safe mundane path, she chose to create her own amazing life and leverage all the opportunities life offered to her!

I loved the entire book, but my favorite chapters are:

  • Love and Marriage
  • Your Smartphone is not Your Brain
  • How to Live to be 200

If you like fashion or want an espresso shot of creativity, then read the book! If you like vivid colors or just want to start your day, read this book! If you want to try something new, then read this book!

Just try it once, you will love it for sure!

Similar Works:

  • Books – “Girl, Wash Your Face” by Rachel Hollis. “Why Not Me” by Mindy Kaling.
  • TV Series – Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. The heroine in this series is as vibrant as the author.
  • Genres – Memoir, Motivation, fashion design.
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Welcome to Day0 of the #BookReviewBlogChallenge!

Today’s task is to add a post on any book that sparks joy in your life! It could be a book that makes you laugh, a book that brings back fond memories, maybe the first book you ever bought on your own salary! 🙂

Write a 1-line description of why you love this book along with the cover image; no word count rules today! Then post the link to your blog or Instagram link in the comments.

For me, this book by Robin Sharma is a favorite read. Love the bite-sized chapters and the mood boost they instantly provide. Its like a prose form of a cup of steaming hot chocolate after a cold winter commute! 🙂 Another lovely part of this book is that it actually belongs to my husband, who introduced me to the beautiful world of self-help books and inspirational authors like Robin Sharma, Brian Tracy and Malcolm Goldwell.

Images of two of my favorite chapters are added below:

Happy Reading!

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#BookReviewBlogChallenge

Calling all Book Review Bloggers and Bookstagrammers! Participate in our Book Review Blog Challenge and win a $50 Amazon Giftcard! Second prize $20 giftcard and 3 honorary mentions.

The rules are simple – between April 15th and May 18 there will be 8 prompts (words or phrases). Review a book that fits each theme and win points. The blogger with the most points wins!

Blogging is fun and so is reading! This blog challenge combines both and gives you a chance to mingle with other book lovers, while helping you push forward with your annual reading goals! 🙂 Plus, if you own a blog this is a great way to add more links, which is good SEO.

Sign up here to participate. Deadline is Apr 25th, 2020.

Rules of the challenges are posted in details here. FAQs below.

Happy Blogging! 🙂

FAQs – Frequently Asked Qs

  • How long is the contest?
    • The contest will run between Apr 15th, 2020 and May 18th, 2020.
  • I missed the start/ first few themes. Can I participate?
    • As long as you signed up before Apr 25th using this link, and posted on 3 distinct dates before May 18th, you are eligible for the contest and to win.
    • You still do have to respond to the earlier posts to win more points.
  • I love books, but don’t have my own blog. Can I participate?
    • Having your own blog helps, even with a wordpress domain. For example, https://nirupamaprv.wordpress.com/
    • You can also use your Instagram, Facebook posts or Medium.com articles to create book reviews (min 100 words).
    • LinkedIn articles and Twitter posts are NOT allowed.
    • For all the posts please remember to add the link of theme post (the appropriate blog post) and the hashtag #BookReviewBlogChallenge for every response. Then use your bloglink or Instagram story (or other) and post as a comment under our prompt.
  • Do I have to respond to all 8 prompts?
    • The minimum is one welcome post and 3 book reviews on distinct days. So technically, you qualify for the prizes even if you miss a theme.
    • However, more posts = more points. $50 prize will be awarded to person with the most points. So writing more works in your favor.
  • I found a book that fits the theme, but I have already reviewed the book in an earlier post. Can I reuse the post?
    • If you reviewed the book for an earlier prompt in this challenge, then the book cannot be reused again.
    • If you reviewed the book on your own, unrelated to this challenge, then the book is allowed. However, you do need to create a new post explaining why you chose the book. Just link to the earlier post instead of doing the review again. Cross-linking is great for SEO and Google searches!
  • I don’t live in the Eastern Time Zone (US-NYC). So my post has a different date, even though it fits the time limits for posting. Is my post still eligible?
    • We use the date/timestamp based on when you commented on our site, not the values on your blog. So we will be able to award you the correct points.
  • I am working/studying/caregiver and can only work weekends. Is it worth participating?
    • Absolutely! The challenge prompts will be added on Wednesdays and Saturdays. As long as you posted on 3 distinct days, you will qualify for the prizes.
    • There are some additional points for posting within 2 days of the prompt. So you should be eligible for those bonus points if you post by Friday (for the Wednesday posts) and early for the Saturday posts.
  • I am having technical difficulties commenting on your site/ posting on my site/ other . Can I email you my book review?
    • Yes, email us at [email protected] . However, please note that we will assess this on a case by case basis. Repeat offenders may be disqualified for prizes at the discretion of the challenge hosts.
    • If you have an instagram account or write on Medium.com, please post there as well, if possible.
    • If you email us, please send your response as a Word doc ONLY. Plus, the contents should follow all other rules including hyperlinks, images and tag #BookReviewBlogChallenge.
  • For all other Qs, please refer to the rules and conditions here.

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Timeframe:

  • Contest Duration: Apr 15th to May 18th. Sign up here before April 25th.
  • Results: May 25th at 7 pm EST.

Benefits to Participants:

  • Read more books and review them.
  • Mingle with other book bloggers and book lovers.
  • Earn backlinks to your review site or personal blog.

Prizes:

  • Winner – $50 Amazon e-Gift card & Digital certificate.
  • Runner up – $20 Amazon e-Gift card & Digital certificate.
  • Honorary Mentions – Digital Certificate.

Rules:

  • STEP 1: Sign up here before April 25th midnight EST. (Eastern Standard Time) Allowing few days after the challenge officially starts.
  • STEP 2: Comment on the Welcome post (to be added on April 15th) with your blog link page, also before April 25th midnight EST. A dedicated post saying you are participating in the challenge will be nice, but not mandatory!
  • STEP 3:
    • There will be 8 “themes” or “prompts” posts during the challenge, excluding the welcome log. These will be posted every Wednesday and Saturday at 7 am EST (Eastern Standard Time). In response, please review a book which fits the theme. For example, if the prompt is “flowers” then the cover must include flowers. Or author name or protagonist name must be the name of a flower. Books on gardening or horticulture will also suffice, but since such relations are not always directly obvious, please mention why you chose the book in the review.
    • Each book review must be at least 100 words long, include an image of the book, our website link as well as the challenge tag #BookReviewBlogChallenge.
    • Post the book review on your blog with a link to our blog prompt, so we can match your posts and award points correctly. Post back your blog url as a comment to the under the appropriate day’s post on this site.
    • Do NOT post your full review here on this blog – we only want the blog post link.
    • Each book review must feature an image of the book. You are free to use your imagination to edit the cover image as you like. (This is for all the creative bookstagrammers I know! )
    • Book reviews must be posted on at least 3 consecutive days before the final deadline, May 18th midnight. This is to ensure you are not churning out all the responses on the last day!
  • STEP 4: All book review posts MUST be posted before May 18th at 10 pm EST. However, there must be responses on at least 3 distinct days to qualify for the prizes. So you can comment once on May 16th and once on 17th and all the other posts on 18th, to qualify for the challenge prize.

Evaluation Rubric:

  • 30 points: [One time only] Sign up and welcome log before April 25th.
  • 10 points: [Per post] Comment on each book prompt with the link to your response post. Total possible points = 80.
  • 50 points: [One time only] Bonus points to anyone who completes all the blog prompts.
  • 05 points: [Per post] If you add your blog link on this site within 2 days of the prompt being posted. This means if you can respond by Friday midnight for Wednesday prompts and respond by Monday midnight for the Saturday prompts. Total points = 40.
  • 200 points: Maximum possible score.
  • Winner will be the person with the highest score.

Terms & Conditions:

  • Open to book review bloggers worldwide. However, you must be willing to share your email address so we can send the e-card. Winners will be asked to share a short bio and pic after results are announced.
  • The book can be physical, ebook or audiobook. Magazines are NOT allowed.
  • Both fiction and non-fiction books are allowed. If reviewing a fiction book, please try not to add spoilers! 🙂
  • An individual participant cannot repeat the same book for more than one prompt. However, if another participant has chosen the same book for the current prompt or used the book in an earlier post, then there are no penalties. If you have reviewed the book in an earlier blogpost (unrelated to this challenge), then please create a new post, stating why you chose this book for that day’s prompt and one thing you liked best about the book.
  • You do not need to own your blog domain. Hence blogs on WordPress or other domains are allowed, for example – https://nirupamaprv.wordpress.com/ .
  • Ideally blogs are preferred. However, Instagram, Medium.com and Facebook posts are also allowed, but it must follow the rules in step 3, and links must be to individual review posts, NOT to your profile page. At this time we will not allow Twitter or LinkedIn articles.
  • You are NOT allowed to combine two prompts in the same post, even if you are reviewing separate books.
  • Your blog need not be dedicated only to book reviews, but the responses to this challenge can only be book reviews.
  • All timelines are in Eastern Standard Time.
  • The owners of this site have the final judgement on all decisions about the winning entries.
  • Once results are announced, all winners have 3 days to respond to claim their reward, i.e. until May 28th 10 pm EST. Delayed responses will result in forfeiture of the prize and a new winner will be chosen.
  • In case of ties, additional points will be awarded on participants who commented first on this blog, not when the book review was published on the home site.

Happy Blogging!

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