14. Ask an MHB member to choose from your own TBR

[Martha]

Now's the time to try something different and get interacting with other group members!

To participate in this task, please post a link to the bookshelf you want other members to choose from. It can be your generic "to-read" shelf or another shelf you've created for this.

The person after you should click on the link and pick any book they like from the shelf, post it in this thread and so it continues.

Example:

Person A: Please pick a book from my To-Read shelf (include link)

Person B: I choose this book for you (post link). Please pick a book from my To-Read shelf (include link)

Person C: I choose this book for you (post link)...

And so it continues - make sense? You just need to then read that book at some point before the challenge ends. If it goes quiet for too long I'll jump in and pick a book for the most recent person. Also come back once you've read it and tell us what you thought!

If you've never posted a link before, click on the "(some html is ok)" just above the top right corner of the comment box and it will show you how.

[Martha]

I'll start us off:

Could somebody please choose me a book from my Next Reads shelf?

[Marina]

Let's see if I got this right...

Martha, you have lots and lots of very interesting books on your shelf. However, it was quite easy for me to choose a book for you - that would be An Invisible Sign of My Own, one of my all-time favorites. I hope you'll like it as much as I do!

Could someone please choose book for me from this shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... [It has a strange title because it's for a reading challenge of that name in another group - I've chosen this shelf because it lists all my TBR books in English, so it'll be easier for everyone to see which kind of books they are.]

[Martha]

Thanks Marina, that's such a good choice - I actually want to read it! Haha you always risk getting that book that you've been avoiding...but I loved The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - have you read that? That's one of my all time favourites. Ah that's put a little spring in my step this morning, can't wait to read it!

[Marina]

It's weird, Martha, because I didn't like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I guess my expectations were set too high after loving An Invisible Sign of My Own - which is often the case. I should also add that An Invisible Sign of My Own spoke to me a great deal, striking some very personal chords, so that's probably the reason why I liked it so much.

[Kassay]

Marina, you have some very interesting and thoughtful books on this list. I choose The Scarlet Plague !!

Could someone choose a book from: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Thanks!

[Marina]

Thanks Kassay, that's a great choice! I've been meaning to read this book for some months now, time to give it a go!

[Melissa]

Kassay, your bookshelf is set to private. If you can change this, I would love to select a book for you! I will reserve this spot for my recommendation.

Could someone please choose a book for me from: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Thank you!

[Melissa]

:) Thanks, Kassay.

Ooohhh, I have SO many I can recommend to you from your list...

If you are up for a series, read the Narnia books. There's lots of talk about what order to read them: http://www.narniaweb.com/resources-li.... This article may help.

If you are not up for a series at the moment, read All the Light We Cannot See. It's one of my absolute favorites from this year!

Happy reading!

[Martha]

Great choice Melissa! All the Light We Cannot See is a beautiful book!

[Christian]

Can someone please choose a book for me? :)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[Martha]

Hi Christian, can you choose a book for Melissa as she was the last one to choose? Then the next person will pick for you :)

[Christian]

Didn't see it there. Ok Melissa, I chose Never Let Me go by Kazuo Ishiguro for you. I love this book and I think you will love it too. Enjoy! :)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

[Martha]

I need to stop jumping in because otherwise people will keep missing other people's posts BUT you guys have such fantastic taste in books, this whole group thing is turning out even better than I'd imagined! :D I loved Never Let Me Go!!!

[Marina]

Kassay wrote: "Marina, you have some very interesting and thoughtful books on this list. I choose The Scarlet Plague !! "

Whoops, I have just seen that my edition of The Scarlet Plague only has 50 pages, so it doesn't qualify for the challenge, as books have to be at least 100 pages long. (By the way, I cannot understand why it is so, since the version linked by Kassay has 128 pages - oh my, is my version an abridged edition? This would be terrible, I hate abridged books, especially with such short works!)

How does it work now, should Kassay or someone else choose another book for me?

[Martha]

Probably better if Kassay can choose again for you and then the next new person can choose for Christian and it's all back in order

[Kassay]

Sorry about that Marina, how about The Book Of Illusions?

And thank you Melisssa for choosing a book for me, I'll be reading All the Light We Cannot See!

[Marina]

Great, thanks Martha. And thanks Kassay for the great recommendation, I can't wait to read that book. (No need to apolgize, by the way, you couldn't know how many pages my edition had!)

[Melissa]

Thanks, Christian!

[Christian]

No problemo. I hope you'll like it :)

[Martha]

Sorry Christian, looks like no one's chosen a book for you yet, so I'll jump in :)

I choose Everything, Everything, I read it earlier this year and absolutely loved it.

Enjoy!

[Martha]

Marina wrote: "It's weird, Martha, because I didn't like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I guess my expectations were set too high after loving An Invisible Sign of My Own - whic..."

Just finished An Invisible Sign of My Own, what a fantastic book! Initially I wasn't sure I was going to love it, the depiction of Mona's obsessions (it seemed she had OCD, do you think?) became so complicated I wasn't sure how it could be resolved, and it started to become a little frustrating. Plus the soap eating thing made me feel quite unwell. HOWEVER, the resolution was just perfect. Not too over-the-top or dramatic, just right. And such a beautiful comparison of how many of the characters' fears and struggles were similar to each other, and I loved the creative way that she used numbers as a metaphor the whole way through. Wonderful! Thanks for choosing it :)

[Marina]

I'm so glad you liked it, Martha!

Yes, probably Mona has OCD in my opinion, though she might have other issues as well (I'm thinking of her punishing herself when she is most happy or is experiencing something beautiful).