Secret Santa gift exchange! discussion
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2018 Gift Exchange
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Random Chitchat
I wanna add books from my giftees' wishlist so bad right now but they are the kind of books that stand out and I'm paranoid that she'd figure me out.
Mod
Haha- I keep doing that stuff! I keep creeping on wishlists and adding items!
My giftee has only around 10 titles and most of them are available on KU. *wails* Please add more wishlists!!!!!!!!!!!
Shin maybe they don't have KU membership?
Shile wrote: "Shin maybe they don't have KU membership?"I don't know. I'm just going to gift a couple books. I'm not even sure they are available on smashwords. You know KU is amazon exclusive. *wails*
Mod
I don't! Find them on Goodreads and then check their lists. Use their email address to locate them.
Mod
I don't know. I'm just going to gift a couple books. I'm not even sure they are available on smashwords. You know KU is amazon exclusive. *..."
I messaged you back! :)
Isaiah wrote: "I save up random gift cards all year from different apps, so I can go a little nuts. I can't get in trouble if it isn't real money ;)"I cash in our credit card points for Amazon cards.
Shin Mon wrote: "My giftee has only around 10 titles and most of them are available on KU. *wails* Please add more wishlists!!!!!!!!!!!"my giftee has only 3 books and one of them is a lot if I get the book she may only get that one. I prefer to use the money from that 1 and get three.
I can't talk about my problems, because I would totally give myself away.But I'm all, "Wah, this is more complicated than I had anticipated! I hope I can figure it out!"
Mod
I love that people are gifting to more than just their assigned partner. I haven't got a lot to work with this year so I'm not able to do more than the max for my person. I want to save up next year though so I can go a little crazy too lol!
Mod
Don't push yourself over what you can afford- it's all in good fun! :)
Mod
But the gifting always gets out of control!
LOL! I can believe it Heather K. I love seeing everyone sharing their gifts! Some of them are books I've read, some I've never heard of, and it's like I get to add to my own TBR since people have good taste!
Shandra wrote: "some I've never heard of, and it's like I get to add to my own TBR since people have good taste! ..."The Exchange is always good way to add more books to the tbr pile. I've already added a couple of additions to series I didn't know were out.
I've added some to my wishlist too just because I figure I'm not kidding myself: I'll do this again next year. lol I can always remove something if I get to read it before next year!
Heather K (dentist in my spare time) wrote: "We could say where we are from. Some people might have said it when they introduced themselves."Northern Virginia, USA. Roughly 30 minutes south of Wash, DC.
Melissa wrote: "Heather K (dentist in my spare time) wrote: "We could say where we are from. Some people might have said it when they introduced themselves.".."I'm from Germany - 2 hours away from Berlin.
I'm in Tennessee, almost falling into Georgia and North Carolina in the lower corner, lol.
I love doing these gift exchanges but I realized for every book that my secret elf sends me I make sure that I say thank u because I want them to know that I appreciate the time they took to look for a book for me and that they spent there money. I am saying this to say that the person that I have hasn't said one thing in this group that's fine, but sometimes to little words go along way.
Aղցela W. wrote: "I love doing these gift exchanges but I realized for every book that my secret elf sends me I make sure that I say thank u because I want them to know that I appreciate the time they took to look f..."I know what you mean. I love witnessing the joy and happiness people express when they post about their gifts :)
Have you checked on Elfster? Maybe your giftee has posted a thank you note there?
No I haven't and its ok if she didn't I posted this because the same thing happened last year and I didn't say anything but I wanted to this year.
Aղցela W. wrote: "No I haven't and its ok if she didn't I posted this because the same thing happened last year and I didn't say anything but I wanted to this year."I get it :(
Maybe she was just busy. I had to be reminded that it was Thanksgiving in the US when I got impatient and worried because some friends hadn't redeemed their gifts yet, lol! I hope your giftee will get around to say thank you before the event is over :)
Josy wrote: "Aղցela W. wrote: "I love doing these gift exchanges but I realized for every book that my secret elf sends me I make sure that I say thank u because I want them to know that I appreciate the time t..."How to post a thank you note on Elfster???
When you go to the 'homepage' of our gift exchange (where you see who you have been paired up with) it says something like say thank you or post a thank you note or something like that under the name of your giftee. I've already done it so I don't know exactly what it says :)
It was a big holiday weekend in the states... it's possible your giftee just hasn't had a chance to check their emails...?
Mod
Heather K (dentist in my spare time) wrote: "Yes, sometimes people just post on Elfster- I try to post and remind people to post here also!"I didn't know how to post on Elfster but I did post all my goodies here. *smirk*
I'm one of those people who checked email sparsely over the holiday since I was out of town & I share data with my son. So I was trying to limit my use. :|
So this isn’t really about the exchange itself but I want some recommendations! I’ve never listened to an audio book and I see a lot of you really like audio books and have listened to/ gifted quite a few. For someone whose never listened to an audio book what do you recommend I start with?? I really want to try one but I want to start out with something good! Any genre 😊
Kacey wrote: "So this isn’t really about the exchange itself but I want some recommendations! I’ve never listened to an audio book and I see a lot of you really like audio books and have listened to/ gifted quit..."That's really hard to answer, I think. A narrator can make or break a story. I'd say listen to the samples on Amazon, Audible or Tantor Audio to see if you like a narrator and choose a book you are interested in.
These are some of my favorite narrators in the MM Romance Genre:
Greg Boudreaux / Greg Tremblay
Michael Lesley
Nick J. Russo
Kirt Graves
Tristan James
J.F. Harding
Michael Ferraiuolo
Sean Crisden
Derrick McClain
(not in any particular order)
A lot of people love Joel Leslie but he is hit or miss for me.
edit: Oh yes! I have a 'good narrator' shelf, too :)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Mod
Same here. Joel Leslie can really overact, IMO.
In the not M/M world, I have a ton of faves. You can check out my favorite narrator shelves:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Heather K (dentist in my spare time) wrote: "Same here. Joel Leslie can really overact, IMO. .."Exactly! I know only a few people who feel the same, though, and I always wonder what is wrong with me, lol! He has gotten so popular in the MM Romance Genre that I listen more to him now than I used to (and I was trying to get used to him) but he remains hit or miss for me.
Kacey wrote: "So this isn’t really about the exchange itself but I want some recommendations! I’ve never listened to an audio book and I see a lot of you really like audio books and have listened to/ gifted quit..."MF
Shayla Black
Lora Leigh
Kristen Ashley
MM
Lucy Lennox
Sloane Kennedy
To name a few
For me, my two current favorite narrators are Gary Furlong and Jason Frazier. My God, Gary has so many accents he can superbly nail. "Sweet Thing" by Isobel Starling, one MC's French and the other one is German and I was a happy happy goo listening Gary's narration. So soooooooo good. Also, I currently fell in love with Jason Frazier in "Blame it on the mistletoe" by Eli Easton. The dude can narrate the kissing scene so titillating. Also, I loved An Asian Minor: The true story of Ganymede, narrated by Jason Frazier. So soooo good. Gomez Pugh is a staple for me too. I love his PsyCop series. So good.
Mod
Jason Frazier is another hit or miss for me.
Mod
Exactly! I know only a few people who feel the same, though, and I always wonder what is wrong with..."
Yeah, hit or miss also, but there are only a few narrators that I really dislike, and I always feel bad when I rail on them in my reviews!
Kacey wrote: "So this isn’t really about the exchange itself but I want some recommendations! I’ve never listened to an audio book and I see a lot of you really like audio books and have listened to/ gifted quit..."Do you want a romantic story, comedy, drama/angsty? Other? Personally, I would recommend you listen to The Lightning-Struck Heart by TJ Klune. It's an amazingly well done audio production, PLUS a great story. Very, very comedic. :D I would also recommend By Fairy Means or Foul This was an AWESOME audio all the way around.
If you want a more serious/romantic story, I really enjoyed listening to Josh Lanyon's All's Fair Complete Collection: Fair Game\Fair Play\Fair Chance series. The narrator does change from book 1 to 2 (but I liked them both).
As for a more traditional romance, there are several books that come to mind. The Remaking of Corbin Wale was a very nice romance (although I thought the audio production was breathy). I also liked Hearts in Ireland
I don't know what genre I would classify this one under, but I liked Openly Straight and, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
I could keep going but I won't. :D
Thank you ladies!!! I have so many options to go check out now. It definitely makes sense that it really depends on the narrator. So if it’s a narrator that you like are you more inclined to buy the audio book? I guess I’m a bit nervous I won’t enjoy listening instead of reading, but I’ve wanted to try one for a while.
Melissa, I’m a big romance reader but I also love fantasy stuff as well. I’ll also read contemporary fiction depending on the book but you gave me lots of options to look at! I’ve noticed that particular TJ Klune book seems to be popular on audio so I might give that a go
Kacey wrote: "Thank you ladies!!! I have so many options to go check out now. It definitely makes sense that it really depends on the narrator. So if it’s a narrator that you like are you more inclined to buy ..."
Kacey, I understand your fear about audios. I was very resistant to trying because YEARS ago I tried it and could not pay attention, my mind would wander. Now I know it was because the narration wasn't working for me. When I finally got my hands on a good audio, I haven't been able to stop and now I always have an audio going, plus reading an ebook. (I commute to/from work so I have an audiobook playing in my car on the way to the commuter lot, and when I get in a car with other people I read my ebook. :D Works for me).
To answer your question, yes, if a person really loves a particular narrator they will buy the audio for that reason alone. The narrator being part of a book by a well loved author? That book is gold. Like TJ. :D
If you are a big fantasy fan, we can definitely hook you up with more recs. ;)
Melissa wrote: "Kacey wrote: "Thank you ladies!!! I have so many options to go check out now. It definitely makes sense that it really depends on the narrator. So if it’s a narrator that you like are you more in..."
I'm with Melissa. I never thought I'd like them, a friend was telling me how he listens while he drives (because Atlanta traffic is a straight up bitch) and I gave it a try. I'm never without a book when I drive and a great voice performer (because that's exactly what they are) can take a terrific book to a whole new level. I absolutely buy books just because of narrator. Nick J Russo, Greg Tremblay, Joel Leslie, Gomez Pugh, Michael Lesley, Alex Wyndham, Heather O'Neil, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Tristan James, George Guidall. Really, I could go on. *And I do. A lot. Sorry!!*
And every single one of the readers for TJ's books have knocked it out of the park, though I haven't listened to all of them yet. :)
You can't go wrong with TJ's books.Or Mary Calmes.🎅😍
One of my favorite narrator's is Michael Pauley he does a lot of M/M
LOLA wrote: "You can't go wrong with TJ's books.Or Mary Calmes.🎅😍"
Marcy Calmes is hit or miss. I really loved Jin (Change of Heart series) & Jory/Sam (A Matter of Time series), but most of her other stories didn't work for me.
Who does Michael Pauley read for Angela? I don’t believe I’ve ever listened to him.I’m the same Melissa, there are a couple of Mary Calmes books I absolutely love, and one that’s a comfort re-read. But mostly, Mary & I were just not meant to be, LOL.
Lisazj1 wrote: "I’m the same Melissa, there are a couple of Mary Calmes books I absolutely love, and one that’s a comfort re-read.."It took a while but I learned to love most of her books :)
What is your comfort book? Mine is
and I listen to it all the time, lol!
My Favourites are:Greg Boudreaux / Greg Tremblay, Nick J. Russo, Kirt Graves, Gary Furlong, Nick Boulton, J.F. Harding, Michael Ferraiuolo. Sean Crisden
Josy wrote: "Lisazj1 wrote: "I’m the same Melissa, there are a couple of Mary Calmes books I absolutely love, and one that’s a comfort re-read.."It took a while but I learned to love most of her books :)
What..."
Bahahaha!!! That's too hilarious,
is MY comfort read too!!! :) I love them both but Dreo is so swoony! *dreamy sigh*
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Secret Santa gift exchange!
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Smart man!! :) ;)