Jennifer’s Comments (group member since Dec 03, 2021)

Jennifer’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

In for five, please!
PIFM

Hi, everyone!

For anyone unfamiliar, this is a monthly challenge where you post a link to a shelf you created. It can be named "PIFM" or "Pick It For Me" etc, if you want one dedicated only to this challenge, or you can use an existing shelf you already have, as long as it has 100 or fewer books on it. The link must be to the specific shelf, or you will not be partnered.. Indicate how many books you would like to have picked for you from that shelf for the month in question. There is no lower limit as to how many books you can have on your shelf, but, of course, they should be books you are interested in reading during the next month and have ready access to.

On or about the 25th of each month, I will post who picks for whom. In order to accommodate an uneven number of participants, pairs will not be reciprocal -- in other words, it won't be Joanne picking for Jennifer and Jennifer picking for Joanne. It may be Joanne picks for Jennifer, Jennifer picks for Herman, and Herman picks for Suzanne, and someone else entirely picks for Joanne.

If anyone has not been "picked for" by the 30th, I will pick for them if the designated picker can't be contacted by PM.

When you are assigned someone to pick for, note the number of books in parentheses after that person's name in the pick list, go to the link for their shelf, and pick that number of books for them. Post the books in a new message here. That person has the entire following month to read his/her picks. Someone will be picking for you the same way. We all like to see what people think about their picks, so we hope you will keep us posted in this thread!

Example: "In for five, please!
PIFM"

The HTML template for linking your shelf can be found HERE and if you have trouble, PM me and I will help you.

Your designated shelf must be set so that others can see it. To set up a PIFM shelf for those who would like to, go to the "MY BOOKS" link in the GOODREADS toolbar, scroll down below your shelves on the left until you see the "add shelf" button, and click that. Name it PIFM or Pick It For Me. Add books to it, and post the link to it in this challenge as described above. Again, if you need help, please don't hesitate to PM me!

If you are in for April, post your shelf and the number of picks you'd like to have below. See you on picking day!

Pairs
Beth picks 5 for Jennifer
Madeline picks 1 for Denise
Jackie picks 3 for Jelena
Denise picks 5 for Beth
Jelena picks 5 for Joy
Josie picks 4 for Lance
Jennifer picks 1 for Jackie
Joy picks 3 for Madeline
Lance picks 2 for Josie

The cover colors for the April color challenge are yellow and pale blue. Looking forward to seeing what you pick!

Lance wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "Ok, here are a few options i can pick from:

Gold -

Brown - [bookco..."

Ditto, Lindsey! Soto was great.

You've inspired me to move that one up on my list, Lindsey.

Reading dates: 4/1/2025-6/30/2025

The poll winner for the nonfiction group read for 2Q25 is

That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America by
Amanda Jones

Part memoir, part manifesto, the inspiring story of a Louisiana librarian advocating for inclusivity on the front lines of our vicious culture wars. One of the things small town librarian Amanda Jones values most about books is how they can affirm a young person's sense of self. So in 2022, when she caught wind of a local public hearing that would discuss “book content,” she knew what was at stake. Schools and libraries nationwide have been bombarded by demands for books with LGTBQ+ references, discussions of racism, and more to be purged from the shelves. Amanda would be damned if her community were to ban stories representing minority groups. She spoke out that night at the meeting. Days later, she woke up to a nightmare that is still ongoing. Amanda Jones has been called a groomer, a pedo, and a porn-pusher; she has faced death threats and attacks from strangers and friends alike. Her decision to support a collection of books with diverse perspectives made her a target for extremists using book banning campaigns-funded by dark money organizations and advanced by hard right politicians-in a crusade to make America more white, straight, and Christian. But Amanda Jones wouldn't give up without a she sued her harassers for defamation and urged others to join her in the resistance. Mapping the book banning crisis occurring all across the nation, That Librarian draws the battle lines in the war against equity and inclusion, calling book lovers everywhere to rise in defense of our readers.

I've read four of my picks already -- if you knew how many months behind I am on this challenge you'd be suitably surprised.....
If anyone likes this kind of book, I will say that was a rollicking good fun read!
I also liked although I cringed for the poor main character!
was better than I expected and quite good.
-- I usually like this author a lot. This particular book's premise was too unbelievable and I never got past that.

I'm reading my pick today. I'm always impressed by how Weir, primarily a biographer and nonfiction writer, deftly bridges the gap between nonfiction and historical fiction.

I'm late making picks this month, but here they are:

I'm going to commit to because I've knocked out almost all of Weir's historical fiction from this time period and this is one of the few I have left.

Martha wrote: "I’ll update my list & join this next month."

Looking forward to having you here, Martha!

Beth, if you want to load Lance up with good reads, have at it!

Hi, everyone!

Please nominate a genre for April 2025 in this thread, if you would like to. The only rule for genre nominations is that you cannot nominate a genre that we've already read this calendar year. Below is a list of the genres that have already been chosen this calendar year, which are therefore ineligible.

List of Ineligible Genres

Historical Fiction
Romantic Comedy
Police Procedural Mystery
Short Stories

Not planning to be a huge stickler on the "genre vs subgenre" thing. If it's a recognized book category (i.e. you can reasonably expect the average Goodreads reader to know what it is), post it.

Nominations open until 3/14, poll to follow.

If you want to see examples of genres and subgenres that Goodreads has some lists for, or figure out where a book/style of book you like happens to fit, try this link:

Goodreads Genres

I'm PMing the ones who haven't picked yet. If they haven't picked by tomorrow midafternoon, we'll get volunteers to finish the picking. :)

Great picks, Madeline!

The March 2025 Moderator Recommends poll winner -- by a landslide -- was


The Long Walk
Richard Bachman
(Stephen King)

Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman, tells the tale of the contestants of a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives.

In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules—keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you’re out—permanently.

A “psychologically dark tale with commentary on society, teenage life, and cultural entertainment, The Long Walk is still poignant decades after its original publication” (Publishers Weekly). This edition features an introduction by Stephen King on “The Importance of Being Bachman.”

The poll winner for the March 2025 Focus Genre was short stories! Looking forward to seeing your picks!

As for me, I'm off to hunt up some good Somerset Maugham to re-read!

Josie, you have one of my all-time favorite books on your list, and a memoir I read and loved, so here are your picks:
Flowers for Algernon
and I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir

Welcome -- or welcome back -- to our newbies!

It's time to pick for your partner! Pairs are posted here!

In for five, please!
PIFM