February - Pick It For Me! Challenge

[Rossy]

Welcome!

[Pollyanna]

I'm in

[Lesley]

i'm in

[Chrissy315]

I'm in sounds fun

[~~*Julie]

This sounds intersting! Count me in for sure!

[Leslie Jane]

Sounds like fun, count me in. Always looking for suggestions for books/authors.

[Gigi]

Please include me.

[tosca]

Yes! I'm in :-)

[Rossy]

Done. Welcome!

[Britta]

I'm so in :3

[Ez]

I'll be a first-timer, but I'm in! :)

[Melissa (So Cal Gal)]

I am in!!

[Rossy]

I've placed you as well.

[Rebecca]

i would like to do this :) do we get assigned ppl? :)

[Kasia]

Rebecca wrote: "i would like to do this :) do we get assigned ppl? :)"

Yes, you'll know who you are assigned to on the 29th.

[Kasia]

You're doing an awesome job with this challenge Rossy, I'm mighty impressed ;)

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

I agree with you, Kasia. This is probably the most number of people to have signed up for this challenge yet.

Those event invites do really work in encouraging the lurkers to participate.

[Gaijinmama]

Yz the Whyz wrote: "
Those event invites do really work in encouraging the lurkers to participate."

As a lurker I definitely agree with this. Even when I'm busy and distracted, an invite always catches my interest. Even if I choose not to participate I will always read the invite and thus take a moment to visit the group site.
Polls have that effect too.

[Leslie Jane]

I ditto Gaijinmama. I tend to lurk more than participate, though I am going to try to change that, and the invites encourage me to participate more.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Thanks for the feedback, Gajinmama and Leslie Jane.

We promise to use this feature responsibly, and feel free to say no if the challenge offered is not your cup of tea. You can participate often or rarely depending on your own personal schedule.

Of course, we are more than happy to hear from you guys when you feel like commenting in any of our group discussions.

[Gaijinmama]

Thank you Yz and, may I say although I haven't been in this group long, you all seem to be doing a great job running it!

[Rossy]

Kasia wrote: "You're doing an awesome job with this challenge Rossy, I'm mighty impressed ;)"

Thanks, Kasia. I have to agree with YZ, those invites sure work.

[Mary E.]

I, for one, will go on record saying that the invites are a big help for me. They point me to events/challenges that I might not usually see, because if I don't browse new threads regularly they get buried in updates.

[Joelle]

I want to give this a try!

[Kristine]

defintely in! I can't wait!

[Rossy]

Done!

If any of you can do me a favor and look through the challenge invitation "yes" response.
If anyone you know is there but not in my sign up list, can you please direct them here?
I made note of it on the invitation, but in case they missed it. Thank you in advance, the event invitation is here: http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/6...

[Lory]

I'm in!!! I already respond to the invitation

[Kami]

Am I too late? I'd love to join!

[BJ Rose]

Another late-comer who also wants to join in!

[Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim)]

Wow! The response is great! Can't wait to see what gem will be chosen for me this month.

[Corrupt]

i replied yes to the invite, just want to make sure i'm in

[Rossy]

Rachel wrote: "Am I too late? I'd love to join!"

You are not late since am in Eastern time.LOL

I'll close and pair everyone randomly @11PM Eastern time.

[Rossy]

Corrupt wrote: "i replied yes to the invite, just want to make sure i'm in"

I'm glad you did, that way i know you're still planning to participate. Thanks!

[Rossy]

***********************************
SIGN-UP IS NOW OFFICIALLY CLOSED
***********************************

Rossy picks for Jennefer*
Annvelwis picks for Emily*
Photojim picks for Corrupt*
Laura picks for Joelle*
Debbie picks for Bronwyn Melhuish*
Yz the Whyz picks for Michelle*
Jennefer picks for Gigi*
Amber picks for Amanda
Kasia picks for Chrissy315*
LibraryLass picks for Ahrcadia ~(Fhantasie)~*
Mary picks for Regina*
Ari picks for Pollyanna*
Ahrcadia ~(Fhantasie)~ picks for Rachel*
Melody picks for Julie*
Michelle(TN) picks for Valerie*
Bronwyn Melhuish picks for Lesley*
Sherrill picks for Gaijinmama*
Sara picks for BJ Rose*
Michelle(NC) picks for Cathy*
Emily picks for Laura*
Valerie picks for Ari*
Amanda picks for Debbie*
Annie (a mad hamster) picks for Amber
Regina picks for Rossy*
Cathy picks for Michelle*
Julie(MT) picks for Barbara*
Gaijinmama picks for Annvelwis*
Heather C picks for Rebecca*
Barbara picks for Leslie Jane*
Tammy picks for LibraryLass*
Carrie picks for Melissa (So Cal Gal)*
Barbsis picks for Kristine*
Jenn picks for Carrie*
Julie picks for Photojim*
Pollyanna picks for Idaliz*
Lesley picks for Britta*
Chrissy315 picks for Annie (a mad hamster)
Leslie Jane picks for Barbsis*
Gigi picks for Harper*
Tosca picks for Sara*
Britta picks for Lory*
Harper picks for Tammy*
Melissa (So Cal Gal) picks for Jenn*
Rebecca picks for Heather C
Kristine picks for Mary*
Idaliz picks for Julie
Joelle picks for Melody*
Lory picks for Kasia*
Rachel picks for Yz the Whyz*
BJ Rose picks for Tosca*
Corrupt picks for Sherrill*

[Michelle]

Valerie
I had fun looking at your shelves and adding to my tbr pile! Here are a few that I thought you might like. Let me know if none of these interest you, and I'll be happy to try again.

Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler

Addicted by Charlotte Featherstone

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

The Mercenary by Cherry Adair

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

[Kasia]

Chrissy315

From what's on your shelves, I gather you're into pnr, and some uf, and romance in general, so the 3 obvious recommendations from the top of my head are going to be:

1) Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton - This is a classic for a reason, it's got some serious mystery, sexy vamps (& later wolves) and no-nonsense female lead. A must read, sooner or later....

2) Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate, #1) by Gail Carriger - Fun, sparkly, humorous, a breath of fresh air to a well worn genre.

3) Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1) by Jeaniene Frost - Powerful mixture or action and romance, might get a bit steamy at times, but nothing you cannot handle, I'm sure.

And more:

4) Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Kitty Norville, Book 1) by Carrie Vaughn - Don't be swayed by the cheese covers, the books are actually quite good ;)

5) Working for the Devil (Dante Valentine, #1) by Lilith Saintcrow - Another good series to watch out for!

6) [Chill Factor:] by Sandra Brown - My only non-paranormal recommendation. Lot's of romance, lot's or suspence, thrilling crime piece.


I'm stoping now, because I could go on forever and I think 6 books is plenty to choose from, I hope you'll find something to your liking here Chrissy!

[Ari]

Hey Pollyanna! I picked out 3 books for you.

1. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths. It's a mystery thriller with tons of suspense. So from what I saw on your profile, this seemed maybe you-ish??

2.Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland. It's an urban fantasy (paranormal) romance that sounds pretty intriguing.

3.Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" by Suzanne Weyn. This more of a fairy tale fanasty sort of book. Which I saw a little bit of you liking through some of the types of books you read. So I thought it might be a nice change...
So let me know, more choices or seem an eye-popper?

[Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim)]

Corrupt Angel, a fellow Ohioan I see. We actually have a fairly similar taste in books. Here are a few that I think you might enjoy:

1) Victoria Dahl's Talk Me Down and Start Me Up. I liked the second one better than the first but both were worthwhile. Sexy and funny.

2) Vicki Lewis Thompson - any of the Nerd Gone Wild series. They are not in any order and a couple of them are certainly better than the others. Nerd Gone Wild and Nerds Like It Hot are both good ones.

3) Jennifer Crusie - Welcome to Temptation. An Ohio author writing about an Ohio town. You already read the sequel in Bet Me

If you have already read these or none of them appeal to you, let me know and I'll have more choices for you.

[Carrie]

Melissa (So cal gal), you have a nice range of books you like. I think picking out books was a challenge in it's self. Almost all of the ones I thought of was either read or on your TBR list :P So I did my best, if these are not what you would want to read let me know and I will pick some more.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Undead and Unwed by MaryJancie Davidson
I'll Be Seeing You by Mary Higgins Clark
Wideacre by Philippa Gregory

[Amanda A]

Debbie, you have a lot of good ones on your to-read shelf that I would have picked. I hope you'll find something you would like to try out of these. Let me know if none of these interest you and I can pick something else.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning (Fever #1)
16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber (Cedar Cove #1)
Glass Houses by Rachel Caine (Morganville Vampires #1)
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas (Wallflowers #1)
You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister (Aisling Grey #1)

[Arcadia]

Rachel:

I went through your shelves, and here are some books that I hope you'll like. If you don't, just hit me up for another recommendation.

1. Evernight by Claudia Gray
A nice little YA vampire book about Bianca the almost-vampire and her new, creepy school, Evernight Academy.

2. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
The first Sookie Stackhouse mystery, in which barmaid Sookie meets her first vampire and, well, falls in love with him.

3. How To Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks
A vampire loses one of his fangs and must find a dentist to fix it before midnight. A lighter read than any of the above.

[Melody]

Julie, I had fun pawing through your shelves. :O) But I must have added another 3 or 4 new series to my tbr pile...

It looks like, in addition to UF and PNR, you like spacey sci-fi. Me too. :O) Here are some of my favorites across the spectrum:

The Scent of Shadows: The First Sign of the Zodiac, Vicki Pettersson: Dark UF set in Las Vegas.

Darkfever, Karen Marie Moning: While not my favorite book in the series, the series is great overall.

Ravyn's Flight, Patti O'shea: From one of the authors of the Crimson City series, which I see you've read in part. Here we find danger on an "unoccupied" alien world.

Staying Dead, Laura Anne Gilman: Perhaps not the best rated series, but one I've enjoyed. About a magical "retriever" and her kooky cohorts.

Lovelock, Orson Scott Card: An older title that was meant to be the beginning of a series. I've never found any follow-up titles, and I've looked. Colonizing ship travels through space, with a monkey.

Cyteen, C.J. Cherryh: I read this one some years ago and really loved it, but I can't vouch for how time has treated it. Space travel, genetics, cloning, and a psychological search for what it means to be human. I think this very large tome is actually 2 or 3 titles published as one.

Let me know if none of these work for you, or if you've already read them... :O)

[~Sara~]

BJ Rose: Wow! You have an amazing selection of books on your shelves! It made choosing recommendations interesting since you've read a lot of my favourites but here are some I didn't see:

The Butler Did It by Kasey Michaels. I saw you read her Romney Marsh series so you might like this one. It's an amusing read.

Seduced By A Scoundrel by Barbara Dawson Smith. I love the interaction between the H/h.

If you want a modern romance, Vicki Lewis Thompson's Nerd's series is really good. I liked Nerd in Shining Armor. I'm a sucker for a computer geek :)

If you want a quick, easy harlequin read, I liked The Wastrel, Beau Crusoe, or A Scandalous Mistress.

If you want more of a romantic fairy tale, Stardust is really good. I love the Princes! It's considerably different from the movie. If you've seen it, don't base it on that.

I hope you enjoy whatever you choose as much as I did!

[Wendy]

Ahrcadia, I can't view your profile to check out your shelves, can you add me as a friend?

[Arcadia]

Just did, LibraryLass :)

[Wendy]

Cheers, Ahrcadia. I'll go have a browse....

[BJ Rose]

Tosca, this is my first time in this challenge, so I hope I did my homework well. (And I picked up some book recs along the way)!

I noticed that you have read contemporary romance books by Julie Garwood and Linda Howard, so I picked some of their historical romance books:

Julie Garwood: The Prize *Norman/Saxon*
OR Saving Grace *takes place in 13th century Scotland
Linda Howard: The Touch Of Fire *heroine is a woman doctor in the 1870s in the American West*
OR Son of the Morning *this is both contemporary & historical; involves time-travel*

If those don't appeal, here are two very dissimilar general-fiction books:
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa **I would give this 10* if I could**
Sharp Objects: A Novel by Gillian Flynn **I'm not sure what to say about this one, other than it's realistic & scary; here's My Review

And I was going to recommend M.C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth, but I see you already read those, so here are the first books from two different Alexander McCall Smith series:
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency **setting is Botswana
The Sunday Philosophy Club **setting is Scotland - the heroine edits/publishes a literary newsletter/magazine** I noticed in your profile that you co-ordinate the NextReads newsletter, so maybe a kindred spirit here?

[Wendy]

Ok here goes, Ahrcadia. I haven't read tonnes of PNR/UF like others... so a lot of what I've read so have you! But here are a few I've read and enjoyed and they aren't on your shelf. If you don't like this lot, I'll give it another go.

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore - a fantastic YA fantasy with a kick-ass heroine and just a smidgeon of romance.

2. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong - another fantastic YA about a girl who sees ghosts.

3. Shadow Game by Christine Feehan - the beginning of a great series about 'enhanced' people who have psychic talents amongst others.

4. The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe - this book was recommended to me and I was at first reluctant to read it. But I'm sure glad I did. Has a little bit of nearly all the romance sub-genres I like historical/mystery/pnr/fantasy. I'm looking forward to when I have time to read the rest in this series!

5. Dancing with the Devil by Keri Arthur - great PNR which has the bonus of being a fast read and the beginning of a SHORT series (4).

Hope you find something in these =)

[Arcadia]

I think I'll read Shadow Game.

[Wendy]

Ahrcadia ~(Fhantasie)~ wrote: "I think I'll read Shadow Game."

Great! I'm sure you'll enjoy it and get hooked on the series =)