The Quasi-Official September Book Reading Game

[Geoffrey]

Can you believe it's September already?   This is the official game thread for our September game.   As a reminder, here are the selectors and selectees:

Selector	Selectee	Genres	Dealbreakers
akagriff	Steven L. Hawk	Sci Fi, Post Apocalyptic, Zombies (yeah, I love 'em)	Romance, Prefer <$5
Annalog	DickStanley	Civil War, hard science fiction, historical fiction	No Deal Breakers
ayuryogini	Quake1028	Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure	I'll be adventurous this first month and say none.
AYY	izzy	young adult books, fiction, vampire/shifter, sci/fi, romance you can see my goodreads here.	religious books; political books; some nonfiction books
Basilius	akagriff	happy, sad,serious, mystery, espionage, funny	Vampires, monsters, demons, scary, smut
Betsy the Quilter	Tuttle	Fantasy, Science Fiction	I'm going to have to set some sort of monetary limit. This may be edited but for now lets say $5. I have a bit extra in my "money which I can't use elsewhere" fund.
dahoover	lowspark	Horror (King); Crime/Thrillers	Overtly Religious; Romance; Fantasy
DickStanley	hsuthard	Urban fantasy, female sleuths, bestsellers and mysteries.  Here is my Goodreads	horror, overly long books.
dnagirl	Belle2Be	Stephen King, Jody Piccoult, Lots of light reading (twilight, Eragon series, the lightning thief etc), Dan Brown's stuff, and a little dean koonz.  So I guess thats Horror, Teen, and Fantasy Lite	No Deal Breakers
dpinmd	Geemont	Science Fiction; Mystery/Crime You can find me on Goodreads	Young Adult.  Inspirational/Religious.  Genre Romance.  Series with more than three or four books.  Media Tie-In/Media Centric. Greater than 500 pages/8,000 locations.
drenfrow	jlandes	horror, action/adventure, general fiction, some non-fiction	No Deal Breakers
EKing	sem	No Usual genre	No Deal Breakers
firedawn	Annalog	Science Fiction; Mystery; Fantasy	No Deal Breakers
Geemont	JimJ	Horror, Nonfiction, Thrillers	Romance, anything by Stephanie Meyer, Religious
Geoffrey	AYY	all over the place, really, but I'll go with literary fiction, health/wellness, and fantasy	smut, horror, graphic violence, religion, and how to/self help
Groggy1	Margaret	Mysteries; Historical Fiction; Chick Lit	No Deal Breakers
hsuthard	imallbs	Western European and American history; Historical Fiction; Science Fiction; Mystery	Horror
imallbs	Leslie	I want someone to pick a book for me that has an absolutely fabulous cover. ...the cover wins it. If the cover doesn't zing me, I'll let you know.	No Deal Breakers
izzy	KindleGirl	Drama; Mystery/thrillers; Contemp. fiction	Non-fiction; Sci-fi -where they have funny names and ride around in spaceships. Futuristic fiction which has a big dose of realism, I can cope with; Fantasy - same thing as sci-fi...if it is set in our world with some normal people as well, I can handle it. (I read Storm Front from J. Butcher and enjoyed that because of the humor).  Strong religious themes
jaspertyler	Basilius	Fantasy; Science Fiction;  Military History	Romance (as a genre), Religion (with intent to preach), Celebrity Memoirs, Trendy Sparkly Paranormals.

[Geoffrey]

I split the list in two this time.  Here are the rest of us:

Selector	Selectee	Genres	Dealbreakers
Jeff	Taborcarn	Sci-fi, Fantasy, Mystery	Politics; Religious; Romance
JimJ	RavenclawPrefect	Science Fiction; Thriller/Mystery; Contemporary Fiction	Non-fiction; Bodice Rippers; Graphic Violence/ Gore (over the top, pages describing dismemberment type things); Religious
jlandes	ayuryogini	Chick-Lit; Happy Endings; Mysteries /Detective Novels; Non-Fiction, especially if written like a novel; Biography and Autobiography	Politics or Religion with intent to convert; Violence/Stalking. Dark and Depressing; Science Fiction
KindleGirl	vg	I'll take any book that's given to me	no dealbreakers, I'm feeling scrappy this month
Leslie	jaspertyler	paranormal romance; mystery; horror (Recent books I've read and loved:   Dog On It by Spencer Quinn, Fevre Series by Karen Marie Moning, The Passage by Justin Cronin)	Nonfiction; Religious; western; Books that take a ton of work to read
lowspark	firedawn	Usually YA, Fantasy, some light Sci Fi... I occasionally indulge in chick lit too.	If it's over 800 pages I might hesitate.. and I find authors like King, Picoult, and Patterson trite and contrived.
luvmy4brats	MINImum	Mystery & thriller, sci-fi & fantasy, historical fiction, horror	Stephen King only because I have already read everything
Margaret	Geoffrey	Science Fiction; Fantasy; Alternate History; gay themed books.  You can find me on goodreads  here.	No Deal Breakers
Marguerite	Groggy1	Science fiction; Fantasy; Science fact	Romance (the genre); political/religious with the intent of change; Koontz - nope not reading that.
MINImum	dpinmd	paranormal (with/without romance); contemporary fiction (i.e. the latest thing circulating around book clubs)	No Deal Breakers
NogDog	MoyJoy	Fiction.� Humor is a bonus.	Anything historic.� I like living in the world of imagination.
Quake1028	Jeff	I normally read about anything. Here's my Goodreads URL.	No erotica please.
RavenclawPrefect	Marguerite	current best sellers, drama, some romance, occasional fantasy	war i.e. strategy and weaponry detailed descriptions in a lot of the book , political or religious persuasion books, erotica
sem	dahoover	Mystery/Thriller and Fantasy/SciFi	Not dealbreakers for me ...but it is okay if you pick a book within the usual genres because I don't want to miss out on any great books.
Steven L. Hawk	Tripp	historical fiction; chick lit; family saga; drama; suspense; thrillers; religion is OK if it is presented culturally, not to convert.	Vampires.
Taborcarn	luvmy4brats	No Usual genre  Here's my  Goodreads Link so you can see what I've read: www.goodreads.com	Graphic Violence; Horror; Religion/politics
Tripp	drenfrow	Mystery, Fantasy/Sci Fi, Science/History of Science	extreme violence/gore, extreme sadness You can check out my books on Goodreads: Donna's Books
Tuttle	EKing	Urban Fantasy; Paranormal; Horror; Mystery	Non-Fiction; Religious / political with the intent of change; Harlequin-style romance
vg	Betsy the Quilter	mystery/thrillers, and I'm somewhere on Goodreads	No Deal-Breakers (except I prefer to stay $9.99 and under.)
vg	jlee745	Romance, Christian Fiction, Nickolas Sparks	Erotica, No vampires & demons, & with 4 kids I need it under 500 pages.

[Geoffrey]

AYY,

I have two very different options for you.  The first is The Distance Between Us by Bart Yates.  This is the story of a completely dysfunctional family of musical prodigies.




The next is Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling.  This is the story of a global apocalypse and the rebuilding.  It’s the beginning of a series but stands by itself pretty well.

[Jeff]

Taborcarn, your book is Billy Boyle. Judging by the cover it looks like a long stretch from your usual genre but I think you'll find it reasonably comfortable.

[izzy]

Kindlegirl these are my picks for you. If none of them appeal to you let me know.


This is more in your zone since you read the other 2 books, but i loved the last book.

[Marguerite]

Hi Groggy1.  I have a book outside of your usual that I think is very good.  Just let me know if you have read it.



It is available for Kindle I just can't figure out how to make the link maker work for it.

[drenfrow]

jlandes, here is my pick for you:



Let me know if you've read it.  I hope you like it.

[Basilius]

Okay, akagriff, here's what I'm suggesting for you this month. First, we'll start with a quick space-based adventure that's not heavy on the science.



I'm actually only recommending half the pictured book: Falling Free. This is Book 0 of the Vorkosigan Saga. It provides background, but is a standalone novel. The other book in the omnibus pictured above is Diplomatic Immunity. It's the 12th book (or so) in the same series, and I haven't made it that far yet to know if it's any good. Still, the combined book is available on Webscriptions.net for $5 right here: http://www.webscription.net/p-611-miles-mutants-and-microbes.aspx  (It's not available through Amazon.)

Falling Free is a quick, fun read.

My next recommendation is a "modern" urban fantasy set in early 80's Silicon Valley:



It's a bit of a mystery/adventure that pulls you right along. Sadly, I think it's a bit overpriced for a short novel that came out 25 years ago.

Finally, if you're looking for something bigger/meatier, we'll go with one of the best (and longest) books I read this year:



It's a science fiction time-travel book, but it spends most of its time as a bit of Victorian comedy/adventure. Great fun with some very memorable scenes.

Hope you find something to your liking!

[Tripp]

Hi drenfrow,
I think that you had once said that you went with the first book when there were multiple choices.  So, I am going to post only one selection this month.  For you, I have chosen Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.  I really enjoyed this book and I hope you like it.  Of course, if you have read it or would like another choice, I have another idea if you are willing to go $0.21 above the $9.99 limit. 

[Geemont]

For JimJ:

Two suggestions to choose from.  Let me know if you've read them





Or

[jaspertyler]

Basilius, these are for you:

At the suggestion of my husband who reads similar books to you (I loved this one too).  I do not love the price though at 12.99!!



I have also picked as backups:




Please let me know if you would like me to pick something else

[JimJ]

For JimJ:

Two suggestions to choose from.  Let me know if you've read them





Or

I haven't read either of them. I have read The Road from McCarthy and was planning on reading Blood Meridian eventually.  I've never heard of the other one and it's much farther out of my comfort zone, but I suppose that is the point of the game, and it kind of feels like cheating to pick a book I was planning on reading anyway.  I'm going to grab a sample of The Skinner and see what I think of it before offically deciding.  Thanks for the recommendations.

Also, for RavenclawPrefect, I've selected this:

It was one of my favorite books from last year. Let me know if you've read it or if you'd just prefer something else.
 

[nogdog~6op6ou]

For MoyJoy, a couple options:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss



Or, in a slightly lighter vein (but with some serious themes, nonetheless) The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

[Annalog]

I'm in. I need some good books to take on some looong overseas flights in October.

Preferences: Civil War, hard science fiction, historical fiction

DickStanley, a selection outside your preferences:

Elfhunter: A Tale Of Alterra World That Is by C.S.Marks. This is the first book of a trilogy. In addition, none of the books are short so if you like the first one, the others would be good for your overseas trips.

If you have already read this or you want another choice, let me know.

[Margaret]

Good morning, Geoffrey!  I have two choices for you.  These were two of my assignments for the reading game and I now count both of them among my personal favorites.  The first is an amazing piece of fiction, and the second is an extremely well done autobiography.  I don't think you can go wrong with either choice, but if they don't work for you, let me know.

                          or

[Alice Y. Yeh]

Izzy, these are yours:





Let me know if you these are too far out there  

[Leslie]

Jaspertyler, here are two choices for you:

The ending of Poisoned Ivy has a lot of people scratching their heads, but I think the ending is perfect. Historical fiction with maybe a touch of paranormal...or maybe not? I'll leave it up to you to decide what's really going on.



This is the book I selected for izzy last month but it was such a hit, I'm choosing it again. This one does have ghosts and spirits and all sorts of other stuff, plus an absolutely perfect ending, IMHO.



Both of these are short novels (23K words and 29K words respectively) so either one shouldn't take you forever to read. Also, at $3.99 each, they are not going to break the bank. LOL

Enjoy!

L

[Quake1028]

Jeff

Didn't see this on your Goodreads. Didn't see anything by this author. Let me know if you have read it. I picked it for you because it is my single favorite book of all-time.


http://www.amazon.com/Then-There-Were-None-ebook/dp/B000FC1RCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1283341162&sr=1-1

[lowspark]

Firedawn here are my selections for you:

1st my favorite Vonnegut book




2nd choice is a book by an author that posts here. I loved it and its definitely different.




Check them out and if you have read these or would like a different selection let me know.
peace

[JimJ]

Geemont, I decided to go with The Skinner. I'm not a huge sci fi guy but it seems pretty interesting. I've read the first 4 chapters so far and am enjoying it.

[akagriff]

Steven L Hawk-  The Cigar Maker by Mark McGinty. 
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41e9iiEKibL._SS500_.jpg.

Hope you like it.

[Taborcarn]

Thanks Jeff, looks interesting.  And being free is a bonus!


Luvmy4brats, since your genre list was wide open, I picked a book that I recently read and really enjoyed, The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman:

[Jeff]

Didn't see this on your Goodreads. Didn't see anything by this author. Let me know if you have read it. I picked it for you because it is my single favorite book of all-time.

Thanks, Quake.

I read And Then There Were None a long time ago but OneClicked it and will be happy to read it again. My Goodreads list is missing a few thousand books, I'm afraid.

[KindleGirl]

Kindlegirl these are my picks for you. If none of them appeal to you let me know.


This is more in your zone since you read the other 2 books, but i loved the last book.

izzy.....looks like all good choices! Of course I am already in the middle of Mockingjay so we'll throw that one out. I've heard so much about the other 2 and can't decide, so I've sent samples to myself and will read those and then pick. I'll keep you posted...thanks for the great choices!

[KindleGirl]

vg...I've gotta run now and don't have time to post your books, but I will be posting them this afternoon.