105 Ways to Give a Book

Comment Challenge 2011: Finish Line


Don’t you love this graphic done by our very own Lee Wind? So much work, and yet I can’t remember to put up the Finish Line post because we had a “snow day” here. And I use quotes because to my untrained eye it appears to be raining.

But back to business! The winner of last week’s Comment Challenge Check-In prize was Pen and Ink, who will receive a copy of Badd, by Tim Tharp. Lee and I have some fun prizes for winners today, so please check in with your final stats, even if you didn’t make it to five comments a day. We’ll be picking three winners from among the 100 Comment Club and also winners from everyone who participated — which requires at the very least signing up and then signing out at today’s Finish Line Mr Linky. Leave your totals in the comments.

We hope that the Comment Challenge has given you practice and inspiration to make commenting easier and a better part of your blog reading. But why comment? Because we live in a society where the question “How are you?” doesn’t require a real answer. Where front lawns are empty of people even in the summer. Where we may know more about Bristol Palin than a blogger we’ve followed during the same two years. Because we’re searching for ever more ways to connect — with blogs, Facebook, and Twitter — and yet it often feels like we’re shouting into the wind. We can be so busy trying to connect, that we fail to take the opportunities to connect that are right in front of us. Simply by saying, sometimes, to someone, “I hear you. I’m here.”

43 comments:

MotherReader said...

Over the three weeks, I left 122 comments. I visited most of the blogs on the Comment Challenge list and Lee visited some others. I found some great new blogs and inspirations, so thanks to you all!

I found that it was easier to set aside time when I knew that I was reading with some intent to comment. That didn't mean that I commented on every blog, every time, but that I was reading intentionally noting what I reacted to in the post, Other days, I didn't do that as much - and that's what kept me from "burning out" or finding it too much work. Some days I'm simply more in the zone to connect than other days, and I need to respect that in my process. I think for a while I'll continue to keep track of comments, because it reminds me to do so. Thanks to everyone for playing along with us.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I left 140 comments over the last three weeks - many to my "usual suspects" but a lot to new faces. Thanks for hosting such a great blog hop!

Katie said...

I left 103 comments during the challenge. I was brand new to blogging at the start of the three weeks, so this was a great way to jump in to the blogging world. I found so many great blogs that I've started to follow, and made a lot of connections based on a mutual love of various books.

Thanks so much for hosting this, it was great!

BookMoot said...

The graphic is fantastic. Off to tally my comments.

Alex said...

Well, I left 109 comments and kept a detailed log of where I left them, so I can go back and keep up with blogs I enjoyed, which were many. I really tried to visit new blogs as well as old favorites. This was a great idea and thanks to you and Lee for hosting it.

Lee Wind, M.Ed. said...

MotherReader, you're still TOPS with me! So glad - and honored - to be doing these Comment Challenges with you!
Namaste and a snow day hug,
Lee

Anonymous said...

As I made my way through the list of participants I averaged at least five comments a day, not including my usual "guys". So, I will say I left 120 over the course of this challenge. What a wonderful opportunity to just get out there, comment, take part in conversations and find new blogs to follow! Thanks you two!

The Pen and Ink Blogspot said...

Grand total of 138 blog comments.
Thanks for the book prize. Sincerely,
The Management

Miranda Hardy said...

I was able to leave 118 comments within the last 21 days. It was well worth joining the challenge. I gained a few new followers as well.

teacherninja said...

I was at 110 when last I counted. I don't know how many comments I got, but it was great to feel like there was an actual conversation going on sometimes. I not only commented more, but found myself blogging more just so there would be something new for folks to comment on! It's a wonderfully vicious circle. More comments=more posts=more commenting and so on.

And it's free and fun!

Thanks all. Hope to keep seeing you around the intertubes.

Greg Pincus said...

I'm impressed y'all counted. :-) I honestly have no idea how many comments I left, but I do know that I left more than I had over the prior three weeks (even excluding holiday time). I'd guess that I didn't average five a day, though. I'd still consider it a success for me... but I can do better.

Thanks to you and Lee for hosting/running/guiding the Challenge!

Anonymous said...

Well, I still fell short of 100, but I am really tickled that I reached beyond my comfort zone and stretched into new areas.

The other bene to me (thanks Gregory K) was to take a more conscious and harder look at replying to commentors.

I actually wrote a post (what else to do on a snowy day?)

Joy Weese Moll said...

130. About 6 a day. I'm thrilled. And thrilled with the comments I've been getting on my blog, too. I really have begun to develop a sense of relationship with a few fellow bloggers.

Love the celebratory graphic!

Iron Guy Carl said...

I'm terribly sorry but I had to drop out. We're so incredibly busy at our library that I haven't had time to look at many blogs and may have left 10 or 12 comments in the last 2 weeks. In fact, I haven't had time, until now, to tell you about dropping out! (I don't get any time when I'm away from the library either) This has been a great experience, however. I've made several new friends, reconnected with an old one, joined new blogs, and gotten several new followers. Thanks!

Gail Gauthier said...

Well, I've lost my scorecard, but I believe I made around 15 or 16 comments all told. I've been receiving comments at my blog this past month for the first time since it seemed to drop off the face of the Earth last summer when I had to change my URL, and most of them are from bloggers who are new to me, which was very gratifying. And interesting.

I've noticed this past month that the number of new posts on my blog reader is way down. This suggests to me that while bloggers were concentrating on commenting, they had to ease up on posting at their own blogs. I know that maintaining my own blog was the factor keeping me from doing more visiting and commenting.

BookBlogFun said...

85 Comments!! Wewhoo!! I got off to a great start with this and then family stuff came up and I could not keep it going the last week. This has been a wonderful experience and I have learned so much about blogging in gerneral, this community of book lovers and sharing thoughts. I plan to keep my list and return to those who I feel are sharing great information about childrens books. I have also discovered that what I really want to do with all of this is take all the great book recommendations and share them in the community with parents and children who don't read these blogs. So, thank you so much for doing what you do and I will pass on as much of it as possible. Thanks to all of you who visited my blog and hope to see you again.
~ Lauri Chandler
www.bookblogfun.doodlekit.com

Shelly B said...

I almost made it...99 comments for me. If I had been diligent on the weekends, then I would have surpassed 100 for sure. The good thing was, I cleaned out my reader each week night and was reading with the thought of commenting at the end. It made my blog hopping more meaningful. I have noticed that the love has been reciprocated as well. I'm making it a point to either respond to comments left on my blog or hop over the commenter's blog and commenting on their posts. It has been fun, rewarding and I'm excited to keep the momentum going. I love this community and am so glad to be a part of it!

Deborah at Annie and Aunt said...

Fantastic graphic! What a lot of work.
Well, I don't think I broke 30 comments, but I think I have a new habit. Just posted on two blogs in this line of comments before coming here to report in. This was a great experience, really got me going.

Thank you so much!!

Joanne R. Fritz said...

Well, I didn't start until the 11th, but still managed 76 comments, which is almost five a day. Not bad for starting late. If I hadn't kept a running list on scrap paper, I wouldn't have a clue how many comments I made.

It was a lot of fun visiting new blogs. Thanks so much, MotherReader and Lee, for doing this!

Next year, I'll get here on time!

Amy L V said...

I left 101 comments, made some new friends, and found great places to revisit. I thank you from both sides of the comment desk, giver and receiver! A.

Michelle Stockard Miller said...

Grand total=108 comments. I didn't do a set five a day. More like a couple one day and then ten on another. Once I left 19 comments in one day! I was really chatty that day. =O) Anyway, I was able to reconnect with some blogs I had lost touch with and to leave some meaningful comments with my blogger 'buddies'. This was a great challenge...thanks for hosting!

Beth said...

I made my quota, and went over. I always made at least five a day, but didn't count how many extra I made.

I've added some new blogs to my reader list, and I need to learn how to manage conversations better; sometimes I forget to go back to see where the conversation goes. Thanks for the push! I also enjoyed seeing comments on my own little blog, which is exciting for me because you guys seem like celebrities to me, only not the kind who write silly books.

Madelyn said...

Signing out to report: Epic Fail!!!!! I came nowhere near the required 100. Still a good exercise and I still appreciated this challenge, as always. Bravely left a couple of comments on blogs where I'd been a lurker. I think that was my boldest move. Thanks for hosting!

Elizabeth O Dulemba said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog!
As far as visiting blogs and commenting, I must admit I lost it towards the end there. But I have to say the challenge made me much more aware. So often, I would visit a blog, read a great post, and not comment. No longer! If somebody has taken the time to write something that catches my interest, I will now say something. This challenge did that for me - changed my behavior for the positive. So even though I didn't keep up the five comments a day, I am leaving more comments in general as I move forward. For that, I thank you! (And I'll still try to reach the goal again next year.)
:)
e

Three Turtles and Their Pet Librarian said...

We started off so much better than last year...and then bottomed out miserably. We don't know how many comments we left - more than usual, but less than 100:( We'll pretend it isn't over, though, and keep reminding ourselves to comment online, not just to the person sitting next to us!

Debbie Diesen said...

I didn't comment as much as I wanted to or meant to, but I did comment more than I usually do; so I'll consider that a mini-goal met, and count it as a success.

I wrote up a (slightly exaggerated) explanation of why it is I find it so challenging to leave comments:
http://jumpingthecandlestick.blogspot.com/2011/01/blog-commenting-commentary.html

Thanks to you and Lee for having the challenge! It was great fun, I found a lot of wonderful blogs, and I got a bit closer to once and for all overcoming my Commenting-Anxiety Disorder. :)

Vasilly said...

After a few days of commenting, I lost count of my total. I'm really proud of sitting down during Bloggiesta this past weekend and commenting on blog after blog. The total count that day was 25. I've realized I need to make the time to comment on my favorite blogs. It doesn't need to be every day but often is good.

Kristen said...

I left about 118, which made me feel great. I could have left double, but it's nice to get jump-started. I find myself wanting to comment now even with challenge over. Thanks for hosting hon!

Sondy (Sonderbooks) said...

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the Comment Challenge - and then I got sick. Friday when I got home, I was feeling very sick and out of it, and ended up only today feeling better. (Today I used up my new energy getting my car halfway dug out.) I had planned to participate in Bloggiesta and really work on my blog last weekend, too. *sigh*

Anyway, before I went out of commission, I made 51 comments, and I thoroughly enjoyed the new habit. Thanks for doing this challenge! I'm going to continue tracking how many comments I leave, to try to establish a regular habit.

Kelly Polark said...

I did the best the first week in visiting the new blogs, then visited my usual suspects and some of the newbies the next few weeks with a total of 127 (probably more but forgot to count a few days).
Thanks for holding this again! I did much better last year, but hope to do even better next! Glad to see new people in blogland!

Carmela Martino said...

Thanks for stopping by our blog to ask how the Challenge went, Pam. I left a post on Lee's blog on Wednesday, and didn't realize the official "finish line" was here. :-)
I met my quota the first week or so, but then things sort of fell apart due to unexpected family issues. I continued to comment when I could, but I quit keeping track. I still consider the challenge a great success, as I discovered some new blogs and we received comments from lots of new readers on our TeachingAuthors blog. Thanks so much for helping to expand the Kidlitosphere community! And I, too, love the graphic. (Hope it was okay to copy it in my TA blog post yesterday.)

Sherry said...

Well, I commented, but ummmm . . I didn't keep track of how many times. I kept thinking I would get a sticky note or something. Then, it was over, and I hadn't kept track at all. I would guess that I commented somewhere between 50 and 100 times this month, a lot more than I usually do.

Thanks for the push.

Deborah at Annie and Aunt said...

Now I'm commenting on a comment on a comment.
I recommend following the link in Debbie Diesen's comment about seven comments up from this one. Read her post, then read the great response from our own MotherReader.
Have fun!

Kate Coombs said...

I left 5 comments per day throughout the challenge and feel rather proud of myself for sticking with it! Of course, it was a lot of fun--I read some terrific posts AND cleaned up my blogroll! Thanks very much! (I hope to get around to other people's blogs more often now that I've done this.) --Book Aunt

Melissa said...

Bleh. I was doing okay for about a week. I meant to do more. I meant to start a habit. But, I'm not sure commenting on 5 blogs a day is a feasible goal for me right now. (Especially right *now*, since I'm no vacation in Hawaii!) Anyway. My heart's in the right place.

Storied Cities said...

I started out really well, but after my boys both got sick I had less computer time and while I still commented everyday I gave up on keeping track, so I'm not sure if I reached 100 or not. But I won a book, which my kid likes, btw, so thank you!

It was nice to join this comment challenge because my blog is so new and it gave others a way to find it, and me a way to find new blogs. I'm certainly going to keep up the commenting -- but I will miss having so many comments on my blog!

Carol H Rasco said...

Oh, my, MotherReader, after all your work and then you had to come by and remind me to stop by the finish line....sorry. I had a grand time with the commenting just couldn't remember but once to check in with Lee at his site on Wednesdays! I averaged 8 comments a day and had a grand total of 171 according to the ragged set of post-its I used as "scientific" tally sheets! Thank you for this annual event that is SO good for me. Some year I will do all the steps right!

Charlotte said...

Thanks Pam and Lee for organizing this! By dint of a blitz of commenting right at the end, I think I reached my five a day average....Now that I can't comment from work, I realize that I am always commenting from the same computer, and so next year I'll actually be able to keep an accurate count!

Tasha said...

Huge thanks to Pam and Lee for organizing this! It's a great way to get commenting.

For me, I got a new job in the middle of the challenge, so I didn't manage to continue after the first week. I posted 50 comments before I got distracted. :)

Carrie said...

I think I left about 30 comments...most during the first week or two. Then I had a project come up and wasn't able to keep up the pace. I do think it was a really good thing for me to do. I added several blogs to my reader. I know I will be more inclined to make a comment in the future after doing this.

Jennifer Morian Frye said...

Only made it to 42. DID have a great time though! There are some wonderful blogs out there in the KidLitosphere, but not enough hours in the day to read them all. Thank you so much for this opportunity, and for electing to follow my blog. I am so very honored. : ) I think I did accomplish my goal of meeting some new people, even if my time management isn't the best. (plus, that whole work thing getting in the way)

kristen den hartog said...

I left comments here and there, certainly not as many as I "should" have, but many more than I would have had I not discovered this site. And I was amazed to see so many wonderful entries about great kids' books, and to connect with so many people who have a shared love of children's literature. Thank you for the reminder that we should speak up when we read something that impacts us.

Brimful Curiosities said...

Well, I didn't comment as much as I wanted (probably around 40), but I did enjoy the challenge. Toward the end I found it harder because I already have several favorite blogs I visit each day and leave comments (blogs not included in the challenge) and just didn't have the time to visit any others. I think it is great that you and Lee organize this every year because I always discover and rediscover some interesting blogs.