The Quasi-Official June Book Reading Game

[Geoffrey]

Hi Everybody!   Its time to start this month's game ...... as a refresher, here are the selectors and selectees for this month:

Selector	Selectee	Genres	Dealbreakers
Annalog	MissStar	Paranormal Romance and Suspense (i.e. Dean Koontz)  GoodReads Profile	I'm going with none this time�
Basilius	Solace	Fantasy, Adventure, Thriller	No Deal Breakers
Berrytastic	KingAl	Sci-fi/fantasy, Mystery/thrillers.  Here's my Goodreads	Romance
djgross	Basilius	Science Fiction;  Military History	Romance (Paranormal or otherwise), Horror, and Religion (with intent to convert).  please try to keep it under 6000 locations.
drenfrow	Margaret	Mysteries; Historical Fiction; Chick Lit  This is the link to my Goodreads Account	No Deal Breakers
fadedrainbows	Geoffrey	Science Fiction; Fantasy; Alternate History; gay themed books.  You can find me on goodreads here.	No Deal Breakers
Geemont	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.   Nothing extremely depressing.
Geoffrey	NogDog	Science Fiction, Fantasy (not paranormal romance), Science fact (esp. physics and astronomy), Military history Here is my Goodreads	Romance (the genre), "chick lit", excessive sex/violence (for an undefined value of "excessive"), "Preachy" - pushing a particular religious or political viewpoint, Priced over $9.99, Part of a long series or unfinished series (not necessarily a deal-breaker if really, really good ), Devoid of any real artistry (just prose with no effective imagery, metaphors, etc.)
kaotickitten	Annalog	Science Fiction; Mystery; Fantasy, I have an account on Goodreads	No Deal Breakers
KindleGirl	fadedrainbows	Paranormal Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Chick Lit My Goodreads	I am a college student, so less than 1000 pages would be lovely!  And if it stays under the $10 limit, that would be amazing.
KingAl	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
Leslie	samanthawarren	Fantasy (a LOT of fantasy), a little sci-fi (mostly Star Warsy stuff)	Can't be over 4.99 (I'm poor), I'd really prefer it be an indie author so I can use it for the ABC Indie challenge, nothing over 100k words, nothing overly political or religious, no non-fiction. When I read, I like to be entertained. Wow, I seem really picky compared to a lot of people here.
luvmy4brats	Leslie	I'll be honest, I'm the most high-maintenance player in this game. I love being a picker (and I think I do pretty well in that department) but I have a harder time as a pickee. Ready to take me on? Okay, here's a few parameters	No Deal Breakers
Margaret	kaotickitten	Christian Romances, YA fantasy	No Deal Breakers
MissStar	djgross	Mystery, suspense, romantic suspense	No Deal Breakers
MoyJoy	drenfrow	Mystery, Fantasy/Sci Fi, Science/History of Science	extreme violence/gore, extreme sadness, horror/scary stuff, You can check out my books on Goodreads: Donna's Books
NogDog	MoyJoy	My goodreads For me price is not a deal breaker so my selector can do more than 9.99 if they're passionate about it.	historical/non-fiction; TALKING ANIMALS!
pawsplus	RavenclawPrefect	Science Fiction; Thriller/Mystery; Contemporary Fiction	Non-fiction; Bodice Rippers; Graphic Violence/ Gore (over the top, pages describing dismemberment type things); Religious
RavenclawPrefect	Geemont	My 12 Kindleboard Game Books	Young Adult, Media tie-in, Romance, Religious, Series with more than four or five titles
samanthawarren	Tripp	historical fiction; chick lit; family saga; drama; suspense; thrillers; religion is OK if it is presented culturally, not to convert.	Horror  and any creature that is typically associated with horror (vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc.).
Solace	SongbirdVB	Fiction - crime, suspense, mystery, romance, comedy, vampire	overly gory (which would include most zombie books I've tried), political (including war/spy stuff), Stephen King, religious with the intent to convert me.
SongbirdVB	pawsplus	contemporary and literary fiction; classic fiction (esp. 19th/20th c); some science fiction (the more literary kind, some harder stuff)	overtly Christian stuff (religion as a part of the plot is fine--just not as the whole point of the book)
Tripp	KindleGirl	Drama; Mystery/thrillers; Contemporary fiction	Non-fiction; Sci-fi or fantasy that has no touch of realism in it. Gotta have a link to the real world.
Tuttle	Berrytastic	crime book reader and have recently discovered historical fiction such as pillars of the earth.	apart from a barbara cartland style romantic novel i am prepared to try most things .

[Geoffrey]

And we'll start out this morning with the selections from Donna for Margaret:

Margaret, I have two very different books for you this month.  The first is a funny, quirky, time travel story:



The second is the true story of a plane crash and rescue in remote New Guinea during WWII.



Let me know if neither one sounds good.

[Geoffrey]

Nog,

Since our tastes in books overlap imperfectly, I went two different directions for your selections.  First I went with SF/F novels I think are outside your norms but are excellent reads.  Then I went for books completely outside our mutual overlapping sections … and I have a list of other books if these don’t ring your bell …. I got you.  

The First is The Stolen Throne by Harry Turtledove.  This is the first book in a series in his Videssos universe and this one is set in an alternate Persia.  It’s available on Baen as part of  a two book series with books 3 and 4 also available there as a dual book.  AND it’s great as a stand alone.

The Time of Troubles I



The next is First They Killed My Father by Luong Ung and this is a memoir of a young girl caught up in the rise of Khmer Rouge.




Next comes one of the grandfathers of apocalyptic fiction, Red Alert by Peter Bryant.  This is the novel turned into Dr. Strangelove and one I was surprised I’ve overlooked all these years.




And your final choice I think is way outside your comfort zone and one I read because of this game and completely loved, Greyhound by Steffan Piper.  It’s the story of a 10yo travelling across the US by Greyhound bus and I just didn’t want to put it down.

[MissStar]

DJGross - Here are my selections for you.  If none of these sound good, please let me know.


This was not my absolute favorite by this author, but it was one of the only ones under $10.  However, it is still a very good book.


This is not a fun, happy-go-lucky kind of story, but I think it's very interesting.  It was my first selection in this game, and I loved it.


This is the first book in a series, but it's a series I love.

I tried to give you a range of options.  As I said, if none of these sound interesting, please do not hesitate to let me know.  I would be happy to pick a few more for you. 

[KindleGirl]

fadedrainbows,

I'm going to give you 3 selections this month....I think all 3 are outside of your normal genres, but 1 or 2 are probably not a huge stretch, the last one may be. All are under $9.99.  If these don't appeal to you, I have more ideas.

This one is by an author here on the boards, recently picked up by a big publisher. Great book! It's the first in a series, but perfect as a stand alone. Sequel comes out in July I think.


This one was recommended to me in this book club last year and it was an awesome book. Never would have picked this one up on my own.


Last but not least, this one is from an indie author here and it is an excellent choice as well! It is a suspenseful book and I thought it was every bit as good as the bestseller authors, and much cheaper...this is only .99 (read that it will be going up to 2.99 at some point, so if you want it, get it soon).


Hope one of these sounds interesting to you...if not, let me know.

[fadedrainbows]

Last but not least, this one is from an indie author here and it is an excellent choice as well! It is a suspenseful book and I thought it was every bit as good as the bestseller authors, and much cheaper...this is only .99 (read that it will be going up to 2.99 at some point, so if you want it, get it soon).


Hope one of these sounds interesting to you...if not, let me know.

I am going with this one, it seems to be the most interesting. And you are right, all of these are outside my normal genre! And books I've never heard of, even. Thanks!

[Leslie]

Hello samanthawarren,

I have two stories for you that couldn't be more different if I tried. LOL. One is totally out of your comfort zone, the other one is very much what you like to read, with a twist. See if either of these work for you.

Helen's Babies



First published in 1876, it became an instant best-seller and remained a bestseller for decades. When I read this the first time (at age 12) I read my aunt's "50th Anniversary Special Edition" published in 1926, and at that point, that copy was close to 40 years old. The premise is simple: Uncle Harry is spending two weeks in the country, taking care of his two nephews while his sister and her husband go off on a little vacation. Harry thinks he'll have a quiet, peaceful two weeks, smoking his brother in law's cigars and catching up on his reading and also wooing a local lovely, Miss Alice Mayton. Little does he know that his nephews have other plans...LOL. I posted this book for the game about a year ago and I think half the game players read it and thought it was hysterical. It's a story that has well stood the test of time. And the price is right: Free!

Knight Errant



This was posted a week or two ago in the LGBT thread so I picked it up...for 99 cents, the price was right. I absolutely LOVED this story. I am not usually a fan of stories with people running around in space but this story hit all the right buttons. Taro and Rafe are fabulous characters and have terrific chemistry. No real explicit sex; the closest they come is "Then he kissed me" or "Some mushy stuff happened." Note that Taro is under 18 but when you have learned all that has gone on in his life, he's wise beyond his years. The age thing is not an issue for me but I offer this info in the interest of full disclosure.

I hope one of these works for you!

L

[pawsplus]

Good morning, RavenclawPrefect!

Here's my selection for you.  I just loved it and I hope you do too! 

[fadedrainbows]

Geoffrey, you are intimidating to choose for! It's like choosing for my boss or something

I have three books for you, two of which are ya, but books that I loved.



This first one is historical fiction telling the story of the Triangle Factory Fire in New York City. It tells the story of three different women, and it wonderful.



This one is the story of a girl that discovers she can fly (who would have thought!) There is a twist and it is very sweet. It happens to be middle-gradeish or ya, but that doesn't stop it from being a great story.



This is an amazing story about Africa before colonialism, but colonialism doesn't enter until the end. The story is a sort of coming-of-age story for a teenage boy. I will warn you that it does have a lot of words that aren't really pronouncable in English, so if that bothers you, you may not want to read this.

[SongbirdVB]

pawsplus, here are three selections.  If none of these work for you please let me know, I'll try again!



This is one of my favorite books ever!



One by a KB author.  I enjoyed this book so much I bought her other books right away.



I just read this one a week ago and liked it very much.  The second one in the series (there are three so far) is already on my Kindle, waiting to be read.  Another KB author!

[KindleGirl]

I am going with this one, it seems to be the most interesting. And you are right, all of these are outside my normal genre! And books I've never heard of, even. Thanks!

Great! Glad I was able to find new books you hadn't heard of yet....now I hope you enjoy it!

[MissStar]

Just adding my two cents.... 

I loved Wrecker by Dave Conifer.  (If you haven't read it, eBully is also a good book by him.)

I also loved Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.  I read it in my Freshman English class in college and thought it was just wonderful.

[Geemont]

Tuttle,

You almost had me stymied with the $5.00 dealbreaker,  but here are two vastly different choices for you to pick from.   A humorous horror tale of a zombie or a classic American roman noir from the fifties.   The size of the link picture is not necessarily an indiction of the better choice.



1.  $2.99

 

2. FREE from Munseys

[MissStar]

I have to say...the review Jeff Strand wrote for his own novel on Amazon: hilarious.  I bought the book on that alone. 

[pawsplus]

SongbirdVB, I picked this one!  Thanks!

[nogdog~6op6ou]

For MoyJoy, a couple choices, depending on whether you're in the mood for fiction or nonfiction:

The Phoenix Guards by Steven Brust. While this is the first in a series, it's still pretty much a stand-alone book (after all, the next book is titled Five Hundred Years After). It is both an original fantasy story and at the same time an homage to (and a bit of a parody of) Dumas' Musketeer books. It's a pretty long book, if that matters to you, though that makes the $9.99 price a better value.



American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson (or should I say, "TV's Craig Ferguson"? ). I found this to be alternately humorous, fascinating, poignant, and inspirational.

[SongbirdVB]

SongbirdVB, I picked this one!  Thanks!

YAY!  I hope you like it!

[Solace]

Here we go, SongbirdVB!



I love this book!  It's totally charming. It's told from the point of view of a young boy as he watches his hero, his grandfather, remarry right after his first wife dies.



This one is a little pricey at $12.99, but I couldn't put it down! It helps that I'm fascinated with/terrified of psychopaths.   It begins with a mysterious book anonymously sent to academics around the world...

[Geoffrey]

This one was recommended to me in this book club last year and it was an awesome book. Never would have picked this one up on my own.

WOW.   The description just blew me away as I was updating my spreadsheet ... I may be reading this later this month ....

[SongbirdVB]

Here we go, SongbirdVB!



I love this book!  It's totally charming. It's told from the point of view of a young boy as he watches his hero, his grandfather, remarry right after his first wife dies.



This one is a little pricey at $12.99, but I couldn't put it down! It helps that I'm fascinated with/terrified of psychopaths.   It begins with a mysterious book anonymously sent to academics around the world...

Both of these sound wonderful!  I'll go with The Psychopath Test, because it seems to be further from my comfort zone.  Psychopaths scare the bejeebers out of me, too!

I'll probably end up getting the Cold Sassy Tree as well.

[Geoffrey]

Geoffrey, you are intimidating to choose for! It's like choosing for my boss or something

I have three books for you, two of which are ya, but books that I loved.

I rarely ever read YA so I'm going to go with your first selection.

[Berrytastic]

Ok Al ,

Here we go I thought i would throw you three books admittedly not particularly a stretch from your normal reading which seems particularly broad anyway but i really enjoyed all three of them.

The first one is set in the UK so being from the UK myself I felt it my duty to give you at least one book set in England.

It is called Relentless by Simon Kernick and i always without fail read all of his books.This is a fast paced ride page turner extrodinaire and will keep you coming back for more.



The Second is quite similar but it set in the good ol US of A

Its called

The American Devil by Oliver Stark


Taut, tense and terrifying - AMERICAN DEVIL marks the thrilling debut of an outstanding new talent.The Progression of Love: his ultimate artistic creation. Now all he needs is seven beautiful women.For the violent killer stalking New York’s streets, the trophies he will take from his victims are essential if he is to complete his masterpiece. That he also likes playing games with the police and his prey is a bonus. He can outwit everyone he comes up against. Or can he?Detective Tom Harper is the NYPD’s best chance of catching the American Devil. But he’s on suspension for punching his superior. With panic gripping the city, Harper wants the challenge even if it means he has to undergo therapy from police psychologist Denise Levene. She believes he can be brought back into the fold, but can the NYPD trust him not to fall apart?A deranged murderer and a volatile cop. Time is running out and there can only be one winner.....


And my final gift to you is

Killing Floor by Lee Child .This is the first in a seriously long saga but is good to go as a book on its own

When Jack Reacher suddenly decides to ask a Greyhound bus driver to let him off near the town of Margrave, Georgia, he thinks it's because his brother once mentioned that the famed blues guitarist Blind Blake died there. But it doesn't take long for the footloose ex-military policeman to discover that there are plenty of strange--and very dangerous--things going on behind Margrave's manicured lawns and clean streets that demand his attention. This first thriller by a former television writer features some of the best-written scenes of action in recent memory, a crash course in currency and counterfeiting, and a hero who is just begging to be called on for an encore.

Sorry about lack of HTML but i can never figure it out

All three are under 10 dollars and available on Kindle


Looking forward to your views


Peter

[KingAl]

Hi luvmy4brats:

I don't know if you've been watching the HBO mini-series (unfortunately I don't get HBO), but here is the first book in the series: (Warning: This book is rather long.)




I've read this John Grisham book several times over the last few years.


I read this book as a kid many a time until it fell apart, and it was just recently released as an ebook.


If none of these work for you, let me know.

[KingAl]

Ok Al ,

Here we go I thought i would throw you three books admittedly not particularly a stretch from your normal reading which seems particularly broad anyway but i really enjoyed all three of them.

The first one is set in the UK so being from the UK myself I felt it my duty to give you at least one book set in England.

It is called Relentless by Simon Kernick and i always without fail read all of his books.This is a fast paced ride page turner extrodinaire and will keep you coming back for more.



The Second is quite similar but it set in the good ol US of A

Its called

The American Devil by Oliver Stark


Taut, tense and terrifying - AMERICAN DEVIL marks the thrilling debut of an outstanding new talent.The Progression of Love: his ultimate artistic creation. Now all he needs is seven beautiful women.For the violent killer stalking New York’s streets, the trophies he will take from his victims are essential if he is to complete his masterpiece. That he also likes playing games with the police and his prey is a bonus. He can outwit everyone he comes up against. Or can he?Detective Tom Harper is the NYPD’s best chance of catching the American Devil. But he’s on suspension for punching his superior. With panic gripping the city, Harper wants the challenge even if it means he has to undergo therapy from police psychologist Denise Levene. She believes he can be brought back into the fold, but can the NYPD trust him not to fall apart?A deranged murderer and a volatile cop. Time is running out and there can only be one winner.....


And my final gift to you is

Killing Floor by Lee Child .This is the first in a seriously long saga but is good to go as a book on its own

When Jack Reacher suddenly decides to ask a Greyhound bus driver to let him off near the town of Margrave, Georgia, he thinks it's because his brother once mentioned that the famed blues guitarist Blind Blake died there. But it doesn't take long for the footloose ex-military policeman to discover that there are plenty of strange--and very dangerous--things going on behind Margrave's manicured lawns and clean streets that demand his attention. This first thriller by a former television writer features some of the best-written scenes of action in recent memory, a crash course in currency and counterfeiting, and a hero who is just begging to be called on for an encore.

Sorry about lack of HTML but i can never figure it out

All three are under 10 dollars and available on Kindle


Looking forward to your views


Peter

I guess I'll have to go for the third one, as the first two are not available for the Kindle in the U.S.  It sounds good!

[Margaret]

Kaotikitten - I am not sure what you have read already, so I am going to give you two choices that are outside of your usual area and hope that one works for you.

The first is by a Kindle Boards author.  It would be classified as science fiction, but I really liked it and I am not usually a big fan of that genre.


My second suggestion is the first book in a series of paranormal mysteries.  I ended up reading the whole series after I finished this book, but I do think that it can stand alone.


Feel free to let me know if you have read these or if they do not appeal to you, I do have some more ideas for you.