2013 April Pick It For Me! Challenge

[Gigi]

Zara wrote: "Hi Gigi.

Here are my selections for you.

1. April Fools Day (April 1)
Both of these sound funny.

2. April Showers bring May Flo..."

Oh my Zara! I'm getting blind. I totally missed this post!!! I love the picks, thank you. I'm thinking about The Hunger Games. Thank you again!

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Hi Tiff! I loved checking out some of your TBR books - I added a couple myself :) You have on your profile that you love alpha males, so that has guided me to a degree. Here are my picks for you - hope you find one that suits :)


1. April Fools Day (April 1)
Perfect Cover (NEW) - a YA romp with a narky heroine forced to be a cheerleader. Funny? Yes. Improbable? Absolutely!
Wallbanger (TBR) - I haven't read this, but it sounds pretty darn funny...

2. April Showers bring May Flowers
Amaryllis (NEW) - Jayne Castle writes fun books. This series is named after flowers.
At the Bride Hunt Ball (NEW) - flowers on the cover :)

3. U.S. Tax Day (April 15) –
Beautiful Bastard (TBR) - media empire wealthy!
Beauty From Pain (TBR) - mega wealthy Aussie wine-maker? This appears to be a contradiction in terms (the best way to make a small fortune from wine is to start with a large one!) - but this gets great reviews. So go for it!

4.Major League Baseball Opening Day
Mackenzie's Mountain (NEW)
How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf (NEW)
Both these books have a very strong feel of outdoors. Both are by great authors who can't write a bad book.

5. April’s birthstone: Diamond
The Marriage Bargain (TBR) - it involves the all-important ring finger :)
Slave to Sensation (NEW) - the psy-net is like sparkling diamonds (OK, they are stars, but I wanted to fit this in somewhere :)

6. Earth Day (April 22) is planned to inspire attentiveness and admiration for the Earth's surroundings
Dark Prince (NEW) - Carpathians heal with the earth, so this one counts :) And if you like alpha - whoa, these boys are alpha and dominant! This isn't the best book in the series, but they definitely get better.
The Lion's Lady (NEW) - this book opens with the heroine living with the Dakota Indians. It is actually a very fun, if highly improbable, read.

7. Patriot’s Day in observance of the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord – Military and action:
Love Irresistibly (TBR) - released today! This looks like a battle royale :)
Shadow Game (NEW) - another Christine Feehan book because she does such alpha males :)

8. Drop Everything and Read (April 12)
Quinn's Hart (NEW) - this is from a new to you genre (M/M). Opening your first M/M book can be quite a big step (it was for me!), but I haven't looked back... ;) This is just a really sweet story of a shy H finally meeting someone who appreciates him.
Walking Disaster (TBR) - it's out today, and I suspect this is a book you may be tempted to drop everything for :)

[Fran, Moderator]

Nairabell wrote: "Hi Fran! I had an interesting time looking through your shelves as we read pretty different genres. I really hope these picks are okay, but if not let me know and I'll track down some others.

Apri..."


Hey Nairabell,

I finished tonight. Thank you so much for the rec! It was one of those books that you pick up for free and put it on your shelf and forget about it. I loved it! Snarky, funny, super sexy - I smiled through the whole thing.

I will read Lover At Last soon. Probably next week.

Thanks again for the great picks :)

[Gigi]

Hi Karen

Here you are. I hope you find something you like. I tried to stick to your recommended or highly recommended shelf. Let me know if you'd like for me to pick again.

1. April Fools Day (April 1) – Recommend a book that is light-hearted and humorous and can be blissful start to the month. Or where a character fools/tricks another.
or



2. April Showers bring May Flowers – Recommend a book that has flowers on the cover or has a character with a flowery name or likes gardening. (Ex. April’s flower is Daisy).
I love this book!


3. U.S. Tax Day (April 15) – Recommend a book where money is an issue, where a character owes money or is expecting to receive money (i.e. inheritance). Or recommend a book where a character works as an accountant, or there is plot of embezzlement involved.
or



4.Major League Baseball Opening Day – Recommend a book with outdoors as a setting. Or involves outdoor sports/activity.
most of this book takes place outside


5. April’s birthstone: Diamond – Recommend a book where diamond is part of the title/author' name or has significance in the book.
The handle looks like its diamond encrusted and thats my story! LOL
or
I see that you like Christina Dodd


6. Earth Day (April 22) are planned to inspire attentiveness and admiration for the Earth's surroundings – Recommend a book with environmental issues. Or read a book with characters that work with their hands (farmers, ranchers, etc).



7. Patriot’s Day in observance of the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War – Recommend a book with character(s) involved in the military or private para military groups. Or recommend a book that is fast action-packed. Or since it is also the start of the Boston Marathon, recommend a book where the character is a runner.
or



8. Drop Everything and Read (April 12) D.E.A.R is a national month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives – is a free for all. Recommend one of your favorite books that have not been read yet by your pickee.
I recommended 2 favs of mine:




Happy Reading!!

[Tiff]

Jane (PS) wrote: "Hi Tiff! I loved checking out some of your TBR books - I added a couple myself :) You have on your profile that you love alpha males, so that has guided me to a degree. Here are my picks for you ..."

Hi Jane! :)

Thanks for the picks! I do love my alpha males! I've been looking forward to some of these books so much. I'll try to read all of them and tell you how it goes!! Super excited for Love Irresistibly! Thanks again! :)

[Desperado]

Dee wrote: "ok LethalLovely - this is what I have for you - i tried to get about a 50/50 split of your shelves and others

1. April Fool's Day
Drive Me Crazy - so I haven't read this one (Buddy Read?) but it w..."

Thank you very much for the recs, Dee! I think I'm going to read . I am not a fan of Sci-Fi Romance/Erotica but ES sounds halfway decent & I'm in the mood to try something different. THANK YOU!

[Lacy]

Nikita,
I finished my first pick! I read and I loved it. It was a quick read and I had a hard time putting it down. I gave it 5 stars. Thank you for giving that push I needed to read it.

[Ashley]

Hey Dawn,
I read my first pick today Driving Mr. Dead and gave it 3.5 stars. I would have loved an epilogue of them in the future..

[Ashley]

Dawn,
Just finished my second pick Seize the Night and I loved it. It was my favorite of the series so far. 4 Stars

[[deleted user]]

Gigi wrote: "Hi Karen

Here you are. I hope you find something you like. I tried to stick to your recommended or highly recommended shelf. Let me know if you'd like for me to pick again.

1. April Fools Day ..."

Those are amazing picks gigi ! I'm totally confused what to read !! Am sure to pick up 2-3 atleast this month:)

[Vi]

Hi Fran! I managed to get some reading time and I just finished . It was awesome. I loved it. Definitely not a Romance but a love story. I was nearly in tears by the time I finished the book. Thanks for the push :)

[Brandilyn]

Vi wrote: "Hi Brandilyn,

This month's PIFM is going to be a little hard. You seem to read mostly M/M while I haven't really ventured into that genre. Nothing against it but I'm a little firmly immersed in Fa..."

Finished it was a sweet, if not a bit thin, love story. Good, quick read :) thanks for the req. I still might manage to get to a few more.

[Fran, Moderator]

Vi wrote: "Hi Fran! I managed to get some reading time and I just finished . It was awesome. I loved it. Definitely not a Romance but a love story. I was nearly in tears by t..."

So glad you loved it Vi! I've had my eye on it, but the waiting list at my library is quite long. I will be sure to get to it soon though :)

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Tiff wrote: "Jane (PS) wrote: "Hi Tiff! I loved checking out some of your TBR books - I added a couple myself :) You have on your profile that you love alpha males, so that has guided me to a degree. Here are..."

So pleased these picks work for you :) You didn't have a lot on your TBR (already published) but what was there looked great, so I tried to squash as many as I could in for you!

Would love to hear how the books go...

[Ty]

finished my first PIFM this month: . I was crazy see-sawing throughout this book - I hated the husband, then I hated the wife, and then I came to the ultimate fulcrum and hated both of them as they mutually hated each other. Still, it played me like a fiddle, so I guess the author did her job. I gave it 4 stars - entertaining read - thanks for the rec, Dee!

Now on to !!

[Gigi]

Karen wrote: "Gigi wrote: "Hi Karen

Here you are. I hope you find something you like. I tried to stick to your recommended or highly recommended shelf. Let me know if you'd like for me to pick again.

1. Apr..."

Good! I'm glad you liked your picks. Please keep me posted. Id love to know which books you decide to read and what you thought.

[Vi]

I'm So glad you liked it Brandilyn. :) hmm, I might pick it up myself. Looks to be a short one.

Brandilyn wrote: "Vi wrote: "Hi Brandilyn,

This month's PIFM is going to be a little hard. You seem to read mostly M/M while I haven't really ventured into that genre. Nothing against it but I'm a little firmly imm..."

[Vi]

Oh yes, please do though you do need tissues handy. Loved how the author explored two issues that I generally don't see in fiction.

Fran wrote: "Vi wrote: "Hi Fran! I managed to get some reading time and I just finished . It was awesome. I loved it. Definitely not a Romance but a love story. I was nearly in..."

[Tiff]

Jane (PS) wrote: "Tiff wrote: "Jane (PS) wrote: "Hi Tiff! I loved checking out some of your TBR books - I added a couple myself :) You have on your profile that you love alpha males, so that has guided me to a degr..."

Will do!! I'm reading Beauty From Pain right now. Going great so far! :)

[[deleted user]]

Gigi wrote: "Karen wrote: "Gigi wrote: "Hi Karen

Here you are. I hope you find something you like. I tried to stick to your recommended or highly recommended shelf. Let me know if you'd like for me to pick ..."

Definitely will:):)

[Tiff]

Hey Jane !

Okay, it 2 am here and I finally finished Beauty From Pain. (My eyes are bloody red crying + sleepiness) I rated it 5 stars since obviously, I couldn't put it down! I was quite hesistant to read it because of the anonymity but thanks to the push (listing it for PIFM), I finally got around to reading it. Thanks! Will be choosing my next read soon! :)

[~Leslie~]

Hi Elke I read one of my picks . I haven't read this series in awhile and I was happy to get back to it. This was another fun read from read from Lori Foster and I really enjoyed it!! Thanks for the pick!!

[[deleted user]]

Gigi

I just started reading and I might read

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Tiff wrote: "Hey Jane !

Okay, it 2 am here and I finally finished Beauty From Pain. (My eyes are bloody red crying + sleepiness) I rated it 5 stars since obviously, I couldn't put it down! I was quite hesist..."

LOL - it must be emotional!! So pleased that the pick worked for you ;) Sounds like the next read you pick should be a happy book!

[Lacy]

I finished and I loved it!

[Tiff]

Jane (PS) wrote: "Tiff wrote: "Hey Jane !

Okay, it 2 am here and I finally finished Beauty From Pain. (My eyes are bloody red crying + sleepiness) I rated it 5 stars since obviously, I couldn't put it down! I was..."

Right! I'm going to read Love Irresistibly now. It's Julie James so it's bound to be funny as hell! c:

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

I finished my first pick today, Lover Unbound. This was a reread (trying to get through the series in rereads before diving into Lover At Last), and while it's not my favorite I did enjoy it the first time through, and I think I liked it even better this time. Thanks for the pick, Regina!

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

Hi Jojo - I finished my first pick: His Undoing. I really enjoyed it - it's only fairly short, but it's a sweet story of a young man college journey to sexual awareness and love. Thanks!

I've started Rock Chick - I could have a new auto-buy author on my hands with this one :)

[Nadine Bookaholic]

Ty wrote: "Nadine wrote: " Sallie (Shuga)

I finished reading yesterday LOVED IT gave it 4 stars
and I finished today I also gave it 4 ..."

I finished all my March picks and couldn't wait to start with Aprils...I liked these two books so much that I am now on the 6th book in the series...LOL

[Elke]

Leslie wrote: "Hi Elke I read one of my picks . I haven't read this series in awhile and I was happy to get back to it. This was another fun read from read from Lori Foster and..."

Glad you enjoyed it Leslie! Lori Foster is one of my favorites!!

[Gigi]

Oh Arena! I'm dying to hear your thoughts!

[Hina]

Congrats to all finishing their first (or second) book(s). :)

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Hi Kristi - I just finished my first pick! I read Thrown by a Curve and loved it! Thanks for picking it for me! I hope to get to some more picks this month too.

[Pam]

Now I'm really confused. I picked for LethalLovely (see post #176) and then I see Dee picked for her in repicks (see #299). Did I mess up? Are there two LethalLovelys (or would that be LethalLovelies)?

[Desperado]

Pam wrote: "Now I'm really confused. I picked for LethalLovely (see post #176) and then I see Dee picked for her in repicks (see #299). Did I mess up? Are there two LethalLovelys (or would that be LethalLo..."

Pam, I asked Hina if I could have someone repick for me. I did this because I had a hard time finding a book to read from your recs (only 2 out of your 18 picks for me were actually on my TBR shelves) and since you expressed difficulty in finding books for me that met the requirements, I didn't want to put you through the stress of repicking. I hope you understand.

[Pam]

LethalLovely~RIP My Chemical Romance wrote: "Pam wrote: "Now I'm really confused. I picked for LethalLovely (see post #176) and then I see Dee picked for her in repicks (see #299). Did I mess up? Are there two LethalLovelys (or would that..."

Nope. I don't take it personally-goal is to find you something you are excited to read! I would have gone back in- usually I say that. Difficulty probably more related to jet lag than to your expansive TBR. Only suggestion for future is that you might want to specifically designate that to moderator of the month. I never would have discovered some of the great reads I've had on this challenge. Enjoy. Hopefully I'll do better next time :)

[Debra]

Nadine, thanks for the great picks, I'm going to go with When You Give a Duke a Diamond to start with . and then im trying to get the otheres like Elly in Bloom, and a few others from library. i really am looking forward to Elly cause i live in Missouri only 3 1/2 hrs from St. Louis..lol

[Kristina Simon]

MountainKat wrote: "Hi Kristi - I just finished my first pick! I read Thrown by a Curve and loved it! Thanks for picking it for me! I hope to get to some more picks this month too."

Glad you enjoyed it, MK!

[Ty]

Pam wrote: "Nope. I don't take it personally-goal is to find you something you are excited to read! I would have gone back in- usually I say that. Difficulty probably more related to jet lag than to your expansive TBR. Only suggestion for future is that you might want to specifically designate that to moderator of the month. I never would have discovered some of the great reads I've had on this challenge. Enjoy. Hopefully I'll do better next time :) "

actually, I can't find it now, but there was once a rule/suggestion that half should be on the pickee's TBR and half new-to-them. I like it when I get new-to-me picks (just not all of them). The stuff on my TBR is already there for a reason. :D

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

You are right Ty. Four of the 8 picks should be from the TBR. It must have accidentally dropped off the rules at some stage. But that's OK 'cos we are going to set up a static set of rules for the segment - we are in the process of drafting them :)

If pickers choose to offer more than 8 books, then they can select the additional balance from anywhere (TBR or new)... It is good to keep that in balance as much as possible. For ppl like Jim, with no TBR, then clearly it has to be all new. But generally ppl have more than 4 books on their TBR list.

[Desperado]

Ty wrote: "actually, I can't find it now, but there was once a rule/suggestion that half should be on the pickee's TBR and half new-to-them. I like it when I get new-to-me picks (just not all of them). The stuff on my TBR is already there for a reason. :D..."

I totally agree, Ty & I also remember seeing something that stated that at least half of the recs should be from the person's shelf. That being said, I should probably state in the future that I want the majority of my recs to come from my 3 TBR shelves. As much as like discovering new authors, I'm trying to reduce the books on my shelves, not expand them, ha! RRRC's PIFM challenges have done a great job of giving me the push I need to read books that have been languishing on the TBR.

[Breann]

But on that same note, I did specify my shelf and my picker picked only from that shelf (which was not my intention). It was perfectly fine with me :D but she had a hard time finding books for each cat from the shelf. Also, part if the fun is recommending something new to your partner. Anyway, I know I should have been clearer, but I don't think I'd specify a shelf in the future, just sticking to the half new, half TBR worked out better IMHO. :)

[Dee]

I just pity anyone who has to venture into my shelves :)

[Breann]

Reducing your shelves... *shakes head* You made a funny, LL! ;)

[Breann]

Well now I have to go peek!

[Desperado]

Breann wrote: "Reducing your shelves... *shakes head* You made a funny, LL! ;)"

IKR! I don't think a week has gone by since I joined GR that I haven't added a least 1 dozen books to my TBR shelves.

@ Dee: Once I had to pick for YZ and my head almost exploded at how many books she had to choose from.

[Kate]

LethalLovely-

I read Heartstrings and Diamond Rings it was cute. At points I thought it was a little long, and slow.
Thanks for the picks!

[Penney]

Vilda, I just finished reading and my side hurts from laughing so hard. Loved it!!

[Elizabeth]

Amy
I finished the first pick , I really liked it!

[Hina]

Breann wrote: "Reducing your shelves... *shakes head* You made a funny, LL! ;)"

Lol, I have to agree with Breann, I end up adding more books from the challenges I am doing than on my own. This challenge included, because I see some great picks and I want to read them too (eventually). Its a never ending cycle. As much as I read, I add twice or 3X to my shelf. LOL.