First group read for December 2015: Winner!

[Judy]

After a bit of discussion, it seems people would like to have our first group read in December - this would give time for people to get hold of the book and for more people to join.

Would people be up for one of the winter/Christmas-themed titles in the British Library Crime Classics series? It would be nice to find one with good availability in different countries so that more people can join in.

[Susan]

That sounds great, Judy. I do like a Christmas crime...
The Santa Klaus Murder sounds an obvious suggestion, but members outside the UK will need to let me know about availability?

[Roisin]

Silent Nights perhaps? Not read it, but fits the theme:

http://shop.bl.uk/mall/productpage.cf...

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

I find The Santa Klaus Mystery is available in my library network. Silent Nights is unfortunately not available in the U.S. at present.

[Leslie]

Arpita wrote: "I find The Santa Klaus Mystery is available in my library network. Silent Nights is unfortunately not available in the U.S. at present."

Same here. Also, it looks like Silent Nights is a compilation of short stories -- I would rather start off with a novel.

[Nigeyb]

My library has a copy of The Santa Klaus Murder too. Is this a sign?

[Judy]

My local library also has 'The Santa Klaus Murder' but not Silent Nights - both good suggestions, though.

[Jan C]

It looks like the Santa Klaus book is available from Amazon and on Kindle.

[Roisin]

Silent Nights is available in the U.S. Check this out:

http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/silen...

Just in time too!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

The bad exchange rate for me means I won't be getting on my kindle & my library doesn't stock. I'll read & start a thread about it instead. :)

[Judy]

Any more suggestions? If not, I'll put up a poll to decide between the 2 BLCC suggestions in a few days so we have a decision in good time.

It will be great to have threads about other Christmas books too, like Carol's suggestion of Tied Up In Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh - I remember loving that one many years ago, but would probably find I've forgotten it all!

[Carolien]

☆ Ｃａｒｏｌ ☆ wrote: "The bad exchange rate for me means I won't be getting on my kindle & my library doesn't stock. I'll read & start a thread about it instead. :)"

I'm in the same position Carol. The exchange rate more than halved my book budget. I think my mother has Tied up in Tinsel. If I can find it, I'll join you for the buddy read.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

That would be fun! :)

[Judy]

I'll set up a section for buddy reads - if anyone wants to jump in and start one before we get to the first group read, feel free. :)

[Roisin]

Tied Up In Tinsel sound good. I don't think that I have read anything by the author.

[Judy]

The poll is now up!

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

Judy I couldn't find the link to the poll. Could you please direct me. Thanks!

[Judy]

Sorry, I meant to put the link:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

If you visit our group home page at Goodreads, there is also a link to "polls" in the top right corner.

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

Thank you.

[J]

SantaKlaus Murder is on Kindle. Silent Nights reprint is scheduled for release Nov 3.

[Lesley]

J wrote: "SantaKlaus Murder is on Kindle. Silent Nights reprint is scheduled for release Nov 3."

I bought Silent Nights last week on Amazon.com kindle. It is also available on Amazon.uk kindle, and through British Library online shop (print)
http://shop.bl.uk/mall/departmentpage...

and in print through Lovereading website
http://www.lovereading.co.uk/series/B...

[Judy]

Wow, our poll is a dead heat at the moment - 4 votes for each. It will be open until October 30, so that if more people join in the meantime they can vote - but if there is enough support, maybe we could even read them both, the winner as a group read and the runner-up as a buddy read?!

[Susan]

I've been crazy busy at work, Judy (in fact, am at my desk now!) so didn't realise the poll was open. Have I broken the deadlock, or perhaps it will tie again?

[Jan C]

Susan wrote: "I've been crazy busy at work, Judy (in fact, am at my desk now!) so didn't realise the poll was open. Have I broken the deadlock, or perhaps it will tie again?"

Looks like the tie has been broken, at least temporarily.

[Susan]

Both look great - I just prefer a novel to short stories, but would be happy to read either.

[Judy]

We have a winner! The poll has now closed, and the winner is

The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay.



Looking forward to it!

[Susan]

How exciting, Judy - our first group read :)

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks)]

Yay Judy! When will we start to discuss it ? Wil it be the middle of December?

[Judy]

Thanks, Susan and Arpita!

I'll post the discussion thread at the start of December, but I suppose if people aren't feeling very Christmassy then it might get going a few days later. :)

[Roisin]

Excellent! Will locate a copy.

[Leslie]

Looking forward to it!

[Susan]

Just started our December book yesterday and it looks good so far. It seems somehow fitting that we begin our group reads with a traditional, country house murder!

[Jan C]

Awaiting delivery of mine.

[Susan]

It is on kindle in the UK, thankfully. Much easier to hold and carry around when I'm on the train.

[Jan C]

It is on Kindle here, too. I just think I have too many books on my Kindle. They tend to get lost - or I have difficulty finding them.

[Susan]

I know what you mean - sometimes the search option can't find something and I need to search through the Amazon page, rather than on my kindle, which works better. Although I can never locate actual books, which are scattered throughout my house!

[Leslie]

Jan C wrote: "It is on Kindle here, too. I just think I have too many books on my Kindle. They tend to get lost - or I have difficulty finding them."

Hahaha! I thought I was the only one that happened to :)

That is one reason I still use my aging Kindle keyboard - it allows collections which helps me keep better track of the books. The Fire doesn't allow them :(

[Susan]

No, but my Voyage does. I have a Fire and a Voyage. I do agree that sometimes, if I search for something via my kindle, it does not appear - but if you do it via the Amazon page it will show up. Something I learnt by trial and error!!! I only keep the books I am actually reading on my kindles now (which are synched) and use the Voyage while commuting and the Fire at home. I love the way I can read on two different devices (the Voyage is much lighter to carry) seamlessly and have thousands of books if I travel. The search option is flawed though, definitely.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)]

Bother I was thinking about upgrading to a Kindle Fire from my Kindle touch, but I LIKE my collections as I can find what I want!

I haven't started this book yet, I thought we were reading it in December?

[Susan]

We are reading it in December, Hilary - don't worry. I just started it early.

The fact that the Fire doesn't allow collections is annoying, although, personally, I only keep the books I'm reading on the screen anyway.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)]

phew! to the read start lol, hmm I may be able to cope without the collections but I do rather like them

[Miss M]

Hilary wrote: "phew! to the read start lol, hmm I may be able to cope without the collections but I do rather like them"

I'm pretty sure all the newer model Fires have collections now--both my 2013 and 2014 HDXs have them.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)]

Miss M wrote: "I'm pretty sure all the newer model Fires have collections now--both my 2013 and 2014 HDXs have them. "

Yay! thank you for that :D

[Judy]

I've just got a Fire but only have one book on it so far so no collections yet, lol.

[Jan C]

I have a kindle keyboard (a replacement for my original kindle which fell off my bed onto the floor and broke when it landed on its head) and a fire and a Samsung tablet. The tablet and fire only have selected books on them. I usually have illustrated books on the tablet. And enhanced books on the fire.

[Judy]

I've got a free trial of Kindle Unlimited at the moment and just wanted to mention that our December read, The Santa Klaus Murder, is one of the titles that's available - they also offer several other British Library Crime Classics. I don't know if this also applies outside the UK.

[Ruth]

Judy wrote: "I've got a free trial of Kindle Unlimited at the moment and just wanted to mention that our December read, The Santa Klaus Murder, is one of the titles that's available - they also offer several ot..."

Do you think you'll carry on with the Kindle Unlimited after the free trial Judy?

[Judy]

At the moment I'm thinking probably not - most of the books I want to read don't seem to be included. But I haven't definitely made my mind up yet. I'm enjoying the free trial, anyway!

[Nigeyb]

Judy wrote: "...most of the books I want to read don't seem to be included"


Is that because not all books available for Kindle are included? Or is it that not all the books you want to read have been made available for Kindle?

£7.99 a month is probably more than I spend on books - as I tend to get books out of the library, buy physical books second hand, or get the cheaper or free books for my (very old) Kindle.

If I only used a Kindle, and if all the Kindle books were available for the monthly subscription, I might consider it. It seems to me that Kindle books are frequently very expensive, and I find it's often cheaper to buy a second physical book, than download a Kindle edition.

For me, the mix and match approach works best, however for those people that, for whatever reason, like to exclusively read on a kindle, the Unlimited deal could be a good one - but that brings me back to my questions for Judy above, to which I'm intrigued to know the answers.

[Colin]

Only just joined your group and would like to take part in the group read but where will I find the start. Have purchased a copy for kindle.