You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Blind date with a book
I have just received my two Blind Date books. I opened both as I couldn't wait to see what they were!Book 1:
Hadrian's Wall
Barbarians
Romans
Gritty
Military Life
It's (view spoiler). This is the first book in a series and it wasn't a book or series I had heard of but it sounds amazing and right up my street 🙂
Book 2:
Haunted House
Voices
Ghost Hunters
Creepy
Patient Evil
It's(view spoiler). This has been on my wishlist for ages! I did wonder from the clues if it was this so I'm pleased I guessed right 😁. I know what I'm going to be reading for Halloween this year...😉
I really love this website. It's like being a kid at Christmas!
Great that you got books that are so much to your liking Lisa!
Did you get your second book, Peggy? You ordered on the monthly subscription plan, right? Because I'm in Canada, the price of the subscription plan is pretty high. So I'm debating about just ordering one or two books.
Lisa, could you peek at my bookshelves and tell me if I have Haunted House shelved as read, to-read, or to-listen-to? I'm scared to order it in case I already have it. I have a few books that could fit. It's the Patient Evil that is throwing me. My guess is that the book is (view spoiler)
Just checked for you, Janice. You don't have Haunted House shelved on any of those 3 shelves. However, without giving too much away, one other scary book you have already read might just be the Blind Date book...
I think the way Peggy is doing it is best as that way you receive a book without choosing it based on the keywords. I was talking to Rob about it this week. I think if I were to do it, i'd have to get him to choose one so it arrives without me knowing what it is about. A double blund date. The subscription is quite pricey here edpecially as i never pay full book price for the books I read, waiting until they are on offer.
I'm not doing the subscription service either. It's too expensive. I'm just going to order the odd book as and when I can.
I was the same with the subscription being too pricey here in the US, so I just ordered two and figured I’d order more if and when I can. I was also concerned that I may get a book I already own or have already read, which seems like such a waste.
I do like the idea of someone else choosing the book and having it be a complete surprise. I wonder if I would have gotten less classic books if they had chosen because I would not select classic as a genre. Both of the books I chose were classics and that’s not something I typically enjoy, but there was no way of knowing that with the clues given. Both seem interesting though, so I will get to them.
I ordered one too!My clues are:
Pet dodos
Adventure
Fantasy
Mystery
Funny
I don't have any guess, but I can't wait to see it in the mail box!
Please add a spoiler tag around your post Margo as you'll give the game away!
Lisa wrote: "Just checked for you, Janice. You don't have Haunted House shelved on any of those 3 shelves. However, without giving too much away, one other scary book you have already read might just be the Bli..."I had to peek at your spoiler, and it's the book I suspected. It's one of my favourite books and I hope you enjoy it.
Heather wrote: "I ordered one too!My clues are:
Pet dodos
Adventure
Fantasy
Mystery
Funny
I don't have any guess, but I can't wait to see it in the mail box!"
I have read that one. (well one that fits anyway. how many pet dodos are there?????) Enjoy!!!!
Esther wrote: "Heather wrote: "I ordered one too!My clues are:
Pet dodos
Adventure
Fantasy
Mystery
Funny
I don't have any guess, but I can't wait to see it in the mail box!"
I have read that one. (well one th..."
Esther, you said you read it but you didn't say if you liked it or not?! Btw, I have a little dog and there are a lot of pet dodos! LOL!
With the monthly subscription they'll send you a new book if you go on a blind date you've been on before. Might also apply to orders of just one book.Also, based on the keywords there's one book I'm pretty sure I've read and it does fit my preferences. I emailed them about it and they made a note so that I won't receive it if it's indeed what I think it is.
Janice wrote: "Did you get your second book, Peggy? You ordered on the monthly subscription plan, right? Because I'm in Canada, the price of the subscription plan is pretty high. So I'm debating about just orde..."
It may have arrived, but I'm still in Japan. It should definitely be there when I get home next week.
Yeah, the subscription is a bit expensive, shipping is cheapest to UK and US but not other places in Europe. I think the subscription is as expensive as ordering 6 separate times though.
Oh that’s great about the subscription, Peggy. I wondered what would happen if that was the case. I guess you just return it for something different. It would be a bit disappointing and a small hassle, but better than being stuck buying a book you’ve already read. The subscription cost is a little higher for people living in the US and the exchange rate isn’t in our favor either, but it’s not super expensive. It ends up being about $68 + shipping, which is just a bit more than I wanted to pay at this time. I may give it a try in the future though.
Heather wrote: "Esther, you said you read it but you didn't say if you liked it or not?.."Well, assuming I guessed correctly, I did like it.
I think it was something like 80 euros here, which comes down to 13-14 euros per book. That's slightly more than paperbacks (especially when the book is a few years old) would cost here (9-12 euros) but then I wouldn't have the surprise. I think for me it's good value if I end up enjoying the books, otherwise it would be a waste. If I buy paper books I'm usually pretty sure I'll really enjoy them so there's not much risk.
It works out to about $22.00 CDN for one book on the subscription. That includes shipping. Still, I rarely pay that kind of money for a book, and that's what's holding me back.
I guess we pay for the novelty of it. The one I purchased was about $16 (US dollars). This was just for fun, but I probably won't do it again. I love the idea of 'mystery', but it can be a pricey purchase especially if you don't like the book. I did a mystery quilt and paid $125 for the materials and the instruction came each month. But sadly, I didn't like the colors of the fabrics and so I didn't do anything with it. Oh well, one for the experience!
My book arrived!It has these 5 keywords:
- Phantasmagorical
- Detective
- Dry humour
- Urban fantasy
- London
Peggy wrote: "My book arrived!It has these 5 keywords:
- Phantasmagorical
- Detective
- Dry humour
- Urban fantasy
- London"
Ooh, exciting! Have you opened it yet? My guess would be (view spoiler).
Okay, I couldn't contain myself at all this time. I opened it within 30 minutes of seeing the clues! It's (view spoiler)
Peggy wrote: "Okay, I couldn't contain myself at all this time. I opened it within 30 minutes of seeing the clues! It's [spoilers removed]"
I guessed right! 😃 It's a fun book. Enjoy!
It's a great series Peggy - one I must get back to.
Peggy wrote: "My book arrived!It has these 5 keywords:
- Phantasmagorical
- Detective
- Dry humour
- Urban fantasy
- London"
My guess (view spoiler)
ETA - I was wrong. I read Peggy's spoiler and I own the audiobook. Good thing I didn't place an order because that's one book I might have selected.
ETA (Again) Argh! Apparently I don't have it. If I search for the book, it shows as "to-listen-to", but if I go to My Books and search, it says I haven't added it. I went to Audible and searched my library there, and it's not listed.
ETA (Yet again) - I do have it! It has a different title here. (view spoiler)
Conclusion - I need to go to bed.
Glad you figured it out Janice ;-) It makes sense to me now too. I do remember adding the alternate title to my wishlist, I had no idea it was this book. It's good to know though, I could use it for the dual title task in the zz challenge.
It was way past my bedtime and my brain wasn't firing on all cylinders.
I got my book in the mail last night. But I'm going to wait to open until I can show the ladies at book club. But it is very tempting as it sits on the kitchen counter tempting me :-)
Exciting Heather! When is your book club?I'm not going to look at yours when I reveal it, as I think I might get it myself at some point too.
Oh Janice. I'm pleased you worked it out and you didn't go buying anything under a different title again.
I thought there was a glitch with Goodreads. It wasn't until I searched under the author's name that I realized it had dual titles. I might have to read it for my Zodiac challenge.
Peggy wrote: "Exciting Heather! When is your book club?I'm not going to look at yours when I reveal it, as I think I might get it myself at some point too."
My book club meets on the 30th. Most of the ladies aren't as adventurous as I am and would never buy a book unseen.....but I thought it would start a good conversations about what we look for in books.
Did you open your book Heather? What did your book club think?My next book has been sent today. It should arrive next week.
According to the tracker thingy, my book is still in the UK, but it was delivered today! Nice surprise!These are the clues:
- Needle and thread
- Family Saga
- Greece
- Romantic
- Powerful
My guess, which I'm pretty sure about, as I read a book that ticks all the boxes last month: (view spoiler) I feel disappointed already :( It's a good pick as it fits my preferences, but no fun getting a book you have probably read already. I can send it back and get a new one, but still... It's being super excited which is then immediately crushed ;-)
Oh, too bad, Peggy, if it is what you think it is, and you have already read it. Maybe they need to have a link to GoodReads to check and see if people have already read the book they are thinking of sending to them.
I opened it and it was the book I thought it was. I was thinking the same Cherie. But I guess it would make it a lot of extra work for them if they have to browse through other people's books (not sure how many blind dates they send out each month) and shelves, especially when there are all kinds of shelves to take into account (read, owned, and maybe those divided up again).
But I emailed them yesterday evening and already received a reply. They are sending me a new book and I can keep the one they sent, to perhaps gift to a friend. I'm double checking to see if I can indeed keep it, but it's probably just as expensive for them to reimburse shipping costs.
That's really good service Peggy! Even with contracts with delivery companies, I'm guessing returns are not worth it. You might have a Christmas present sorted for someone already then?!
Actually, I have a friend who had a birthday recently, and she once gave me a book by the same author as a present. This book is set in a city where she lived for several years, so I think I'll give it to her :)And yes, great service! I'm not sure if they'd do it again though. It said 'I'm happy to send you a new book this time', and when I signed up I read on the website that if you receive a book you've read they'll send you a new one (which was one of the reasons I decided to do it, given the amount of books I've read and own), but that's no longer on there.
That is encouraging. I didn't realize they would send you a new book if you've read the one you receive.
They sent it priority, I got it already!Sounds promising:
- carnivalesque
- magical realism
- liberation
- elegant romp
- feathers
Sounds intriguing Peggy. I like the sound of that one!
oh ok..Do you try to guess which book it might be?
I will go mad, if I had to wait till it arrives and still more till I have to open the package...just to know which book it is..
Is that the replacement book for the one you'd already read Peggy?
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