The Town of Odyssey

It's been 11 weeks, and we're all waiting... waiting for the winners to be announced. But what if they aren't? We have to stop waiting. We need to start figuring things out...

/end LOST quote parody.

This summer has gone by fast, but I've definitely enjoyed running this contest - reading the reviews, drawing each week's coupon winner, talking book talk... I didn't have time to do much reading myself this summer, but my "to read" list has definitely gotten a lot longer, thanks to you guys!

There are still a few coupons that have yet to be redeemed/fulfilled, among them... LizzieG reading The Shack, LizzieG recording herself doing a dramatic reading from Ted Dekker's White, goofy avatars for the admins, a new shop item, and more, so stay tuned!


^The basket I used for the weekly drawings, direct from Mexico!

Before I start talking about who won, I want to share a few impressive statistics:

• 102 book reviews were written, 40 of which were posted during the last 10 days of the contest.
• 475+ books were read during the course of this contest.
• 42 people participated in the contest.

Let's hear it for the Summer Reading Contest 2009!

And now... Congratulations to our page count winner, Termite, who read 21,139 pages (56 books)! Good job, Termite - that's skill! Honorable mentions to Catspaw, who finished second with 15,735 pages, and JesusFreak777, who came in third with 10,617 pages!

Congratulations also to our participation winner, Jugglah, who earned 1220 iTally marks! She seemed like a surefire winner from the beginning, but three intrepid members posted a flurry of book reviews in the last week/day to give her a run for her money! Congratulations to Catspaw and Laura Ingalls, who tied for second with 1125 iTally marks, and Amethystic, who came in third with 1000 iTally marks!

Prizes:

The joy of reading is its own reward.

We would like to give tangible prizes to the first place winners in both categories - Termite and Jugglah! Expect a PM from me soon with the details. Catspaw will also be receiving a tangible prize for coming in second (or co-second ) in both categories.

The recipients of the Perseverance Award (users who participated in at least 8 of the weekly drawings) who did not win a coupon throughout the course of the contest will be getting a shop item and small cash prize; those who did win a coupon will just be getting the small cash prize. Check the last list below to find out if you're a Perseverance winner!

I hope you all enjoyed this summer-long contest! Don't stop reading, though, because books are awesome.

~*~

Page Count Totals:

Termite: 56 books; 21,139 pages
Catspaw: 59 books; 15,735 pages
JesusFreak777: 36 books; 10,617 pages
Amethystic: 32 books; 9317 pages
Laura Ingalls: 38 books; 8240 pages
DanP740: 60 books; 7188 pages
Jugglah: 15 books; 6500 pages
Ruthie: 19 books; 6140 pages
Follower of Christ: 31 books; 5720 pages
Kairi: 28 books; 5205 pages
Invisible Ninja: 18 books; 4435 pages
Pirate Oriana: 10 books; 4408 pages
Danielle Abigail Maxwell: 19 books; 4392 pages
Shennifer: 11 books, 3680 pages
Hannahjiejie: approx. 5 books; 3180 pages
LizzieG: 8 books; 1801 pages
Eugene: 10 books; 1787 pages
Trent DeWhite: 6 books; 1424 pages
Sapphire: 14 books
Ben Linus: 500 pages
Irwin: 300 pages

Italics denote page approximations, incomplete entries, or the non-participatory LizzieG.


Participation Totals:

Jugglah: 1220
Catspaw: 1125
Laura Ingalls: 1125
Amethystic: 1000
Trent DeWhite: 645
Sapphire: 465
Danielle Abigail Maxwell: 410
JesusFreak777: 290
Iron and Light: 265
Kait: 255
Ruthie: 205
Follower of Christ: 200
Kairi: 180
Invisible Ninja: 175
Termite: 165
Hannahjiejie: 155
Tyler: 150
Pseudonym: 145
Pirate Oriana: 140
Ben Linus: 100
DanP740: 95
Eugene: 90
Shennifer: 80
Anna><>: 75
Ingress Neverwhere: 75
SNC: 75
Irwin Springer: 70
David O : 45
Robyn Jacobs: 40
SivartM : 40
Stubborn: 40
prestoncamden11: 30
darcie: 20
JesusIsAlive: 20
random: 20
redcanadian87: 15
aiofan_19: 10
Danadelfos: 10
Dr. Watson: 10
ghostofjohnny: 10
Over The Rainbow: 10
Sherlock: 10


Perseverance Winners:

Ben Linus
Catspaw
DanP740
Eugene
Follower of Christ
Invisible Ninja
Iron and Light
JesusFreak777
Jugglah
Kairi
Laura Ingalls
Sapphire

Italics denote members who won a coupon.

YAY!!!! Great job Termite and Jugglah! :D:D:D

Congratulations, Termite and Jugglah! This was a fun contest! I hope someday the Summer Reading Contest makes a reappearance.

I can't stop reading... I'm in AP Literature and Composition! (I have to read three books just by Jane Austen by the middle of October... AH!!!)

Nice... congrats everyone...

Congratulations, Termite and Jugglah!

Nice basket, LizzieG!

Yes! Sixth in pages, 1st in books!

What happened to the highest-percentage-of-books-reviewed prize?

Seriously, though, I'd like to congratulate everyone for their participation and especially for all your great book reviews.

Jugglah - I commend you for consistently writing excellent reviews. I don't think I'd have the stamina to read some of the books you read, but I'm glad you enjoyed them.

Catspaw, Laura Ingalls, and Amethystic - thanks for making me lose second place.

*snicker* Congrats to the winners! I hoped to do better, but was bested by a great many others! Huzzah! Google! For the Reading Contest!!

Trent DeWhite wrote:Catspaw, Laura Ingalls, and Amethystic - thanks for making me lose second place.

You're welcome!

And yay for tying with you, Catspaw, after our last desperate attempts to pass each other!

Congrats to the winners - enjoy your prizes!

Laura Ingalls wrote:

Trent DeWhite wrote:Catspaw, Laura Ingalls, and Amethystic - thanks for making me lose second place.

You're welcome!

And yay for tying with you, Catspaw, after our last desperate attempts to pass each other!

Congrats to the winners - enjoy your prizes!

Trent, like Laura, I would like to say you're welcome!

Yay for Laura and I both being competitive. I was sure that you had passed me, so I was (pleasantly) surprised to see that we tied. You were a worthy opponent. The contest was way more fun at the end with us both trying to outdo each other - thanks for the good times!

Congratulations to Termite and Jugglah - you both did a great job! And to everybody else too - what a lot of participants and an amazing total number of books and pages read!

Thanks to Lizzie and Taq for creating such a fun, long-term contest! This was amazingly fun.

Woah, Catspaw had time to read 15,735 pages? O.O


...hey Catspaw, have you ever considered getting a real life?

Hey, I didn't even win! Termite read way more than me. But I love to read, and I always have, and based on the reading totals from this contest, I would say that I'm not the only one! It's one of my major hobbies, and during the summer, when I don't have homework waiting for me, I have more time to read. Work doesn't come home with me. I don't see reading as precluding a real life, especially since I enjoy discussing books I've read with my friends and family, comparing our thoughts and making recommendations. Your kind question is much appreciated food for thought, however. I will be sure to take that into consideration in the future.

Yay! 17th place isn't that bad! (especially when I saw that I read more than Trent!)

Congratulations to all who perticipated, especially Jugglah and Termite. Well done! It was so much fun, and I have loved reading the reviews. I only wish that I had had the time to write some reviews, participate in the discussions, and read more. But life didn't co-operate, and other things were more important. But, just like Lizzie, my reading list has been resized! Now I just have to keep on reading.

Anywho, yay for getting a cash bonus!

And a humongous thank you and applause for both Lizzie and Taq! Without you, I probably would'nt have barely even touched a book at all! Great job, and thank you muchly!

(And maybe this contest will see light again next year?)

Yay! I got 6th place in the iTally marks! Congradulations to the winners!

Aw, it's over *Sniffle sniffle* I'm going to miss the epicness...

Either way, congrats to all the winners! *Friendly handshake* It was fun while it lasted!

Catspaw wrote:Hey, I didn't even win! Termite read way more than me. But I love to read, and I always have, and based on the reading totals from this contest, I would say that I'm not the only one! It's one of my major hobbies, and during the summer, when I don't have homework waiting for me, I have more time to read. Work doesn't come home with me. I don't see reading as precluding a real life, especially since I enjoy discussing books I've read with my friends and family, comparing our thoughts and making recommendations. Your kind question is much appreciated food for thought, however. I will be sure to take that into consideration in the future.

Yeah, reading is part of a real life! But of course that's coming from another bookworm. It's a great hobby to have, I always think! I didn't have as much reading time as I would have liked this summer...and I missed it. A couple of years ago, I was able to read well over 60 books during a couple of months for my library's reading program. *sigh* Those were the days...

Yay! Everyone did so well! Termite, oh my word! I am seriously impressed. Now I'm kind of thinking that my book reviews are the only thing that kept me afloat in this contest. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to read long, often difficult books, but that's what I wanted to do this summer, and somehow that tactic worked out. Congratulations to everybody, and thanks Lizzie and Taq, for thinking up such a great contest and for organizing it so well! (And I have to say - Trent, your Narnia reviews were extremely enjoyable and insightful. Great job! And thanks for being a good sport in what I can only describe as a bloodthirsty rivalry. Just kidding, it was actually a pretty healthy rivalry, I thought. )

Thanks, Lizzie and Taq, for this awesomistical contest! It was loads of fun. Cat of the Paws and Laura, I must commend you for your amazing comeback at the end. And Amy, I have no idea how you typed so many reviews in one day. -.- Amazing.

Jugglah, I loved reading your reviews. Congrats on that! (hey, I rhymed!)

Wow, nice job everyone!

Catspaw wrote:Hey, I didn't even win! Termite read way more than me. But I love to read, and I always have, and based on the reading totals from this contest, I would say that I'm not the only one! It's one of my major hobbies, and during the summer, when I don't have homework waiting for me, I have more time to read. Work doesn't come home with me. I don't see reading as precluding a real life, especially since I enjoy discussing books I've read with my friends and family, comparing our thoughts and making recommendations. Your kind question is much appreciated food for thought, however. I will be sure to take that into consideration in the future.

I was just trying to compute how you manage to read that much, stay on the ToO 24/7 as well as whatever else you do in life.
But if you're completely fine, then forget I said anything.