Doesn't anyone here care about the rules?

It is the starting line. Dun dun dun.

The basic guidelines of the 48 Hour Book Challenge:

1. The weekend is June 5–7, 2009. Read and blog for any 48-hour period within the Friday-to-Monday-morning window. Start no sooner than 7:00 a.m. on Friday the fifth and end no later than 7:00 a.m. Monday. So, go from 7:00 p.m. Friday to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday... or maybe 7:00 a.m. Saturday to 7:00 a.m. Monday works better for you. But the 48 hours do need to be in a row. That said, during that 48-hour period you may still have gaps of time in which you can’t read, and that’s fine. (In the middle of the three different challenge weekends I’ve had to go to work, attend a ballet recital, and drive for a Girl Scout event.)


2. The books should be about fifth-grade level and up. Adult books are fine, especially if adult book bloggers want to play. If you are generally a picture book blogger, consider this a good time to get caught up on all those wonderful books you’ve been hearing about. With the change in the way prizes are awarded, graphic novels can be included in the reading. One audiobook can also be included in your time and book total.


3. It’s your call as to how much you want to put into it. If you want to skip sleep and showers to do this, go for it. If you want to be a bit more laid back, fine. But you have to put something into it or it’s not a challenge. Twelve hours is the benchmark for winning prizes.


4. The length of the reviews or notes written in your blog are not an issue. You can write a sentence, a paragraph, or a full-length review. The time spent reviewing counts in your total time.


5. New this year: You can include some amount of time reading other participant’s blogs, commenting on participating blogs and Facebook pages, and Twittering about your progress (remember the #48hbc tag!). For every five hours, you can add one hour of networking. This time counts in your total time.


6. On your blog, state when you are starting the challenge with a specific entry on that day and leave the link to that post at the Starting Line post (via the trusty Mr. Linky).


7. When you finish, write a final summary that clearly indicates hours — including partial hours — you spent reading/reviewing/networking, the number of books read, and any other comments you want to make on the experience. It needs to be posted no later than noon EST on Monday, June 8th. Also, check in at the Finish Line post on MotherReader that will be posted Sunday and please link to that post from your final summary post.

I'm starting shortly after I post this, which means around 8 am, Friday, May 5th which will mean I will end at 8 am, Sunday, May 7th. After that, I need to see a show in DC! First book up will most likely be a Sally Watson book.

And my goal: to do better than last year, not worse!