Witches, Weres, and Vamps, Oh MY! discussion

We are going to be choosing the Member's Choice reads for August & September this month.

August's Member Choice Group Read will run just like the previous month's. Starting with September's Member Choice we will open up discussions on 9/15 and the 15th of each month thereafter. This is of course assuming we get volunteers. Don't be scared - it's just picking a book to read.

Jessi (our current volunteer) will pick the volunteer for September's Member Choice Read from the sign up list. I'll pick August's Member. Whoever Jessi picks will pick October's Volunteer. Does this make sense???

If you are interested in picking the Member's Choice book for August or September please let us know by posting here.


REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBER'S CHOICE BOOK SELECTION
*It must be a STAND-ALONE with Paranormal Elements
*It needs to be less than 500 pages (otherwise I’m afraid it won’t get read by many people)
*It needs to still be in print or be available in most bookstores
*Collections of short stories or Anthologies are okay as long as none of the stories are part of a series.


TIMELINE
* 5th to 15th - Sign Ups will be open.
* by the 18th - July's Member (Jessi) will choose the lucky volunteer for September & I'll choose August's
* by the 22nd - All Member's Choice books should be announced!

(( We'll choose 2 months of volunteers in August as well))

I'll volunteer :)

I'll volunteer to if i am needed :) i would love to pick a book :)

I'll volunteer.

I'll volunteer

Jan - thanks for being the first to volunteer! Will you please select the book for our August read. Remember to keep to the guidelines - they're not too restrictive though :)

Shannon - will you please select the person who will choose our September group read... THANKS!

oh yeah - I created a poll to see what everyone wants to do going forward. Let us know what you think & want.

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/19...

Yay! Ok I'm off to decide.

Ok, I'm going to choose The Demon's Librarian by Lilith Saintcrow. I hope you guys like it as much as I did!

YEAH! I've been wanting to read that book but haven't worked it into my reading yet. Great choice Jan!

I've already read it. It was a good book.

Shanon wrote: "Shannon - will you please select the person who will choose our September group read.."

I pick *Stephanie* since I know she wanted to pick the book for July but didn't volunteer for it. ; )

:) aww thank u Shannon for picking me :) how did u know i wanted to pick.. ok i always want to pick lol.. hmmm i will look through some books and pick wisely :)
also September is my birthday month so it will be like a happy brithday for me that i get to pick :) woot..

i have picked DarkBorn by Alison's Sinclair

here is a write up on what the book is about :) i hope everyone gets a chance to read it.. it sounds really good...

A new romantic fantasy of magic, manners, and espionage that is also a “fast-paced thriller” (Carol Berg).

For the Darkborn, sunlight kills. For the Lightborn, darkness is fatal. Living under a centuries-old curse, the Darkborn and the Lightborn share the city of Minhorne, coexisting in an uneasy equilibrium but never interacting. When Darkborn physician Balthasar Hearne finds a pregnant fugitive on his doorstep just before sunrise, he has no choice but to take her in. Tercelle Amberley’s betrothed is a powerful Darkborn nobleman, but her illicit lover came to her through the daytime. When she gives birth to twin boys, they can see, something unheard of among the Darkborn. When men come for the boys, Balthasar is saved by the intervention of his Lightborn neighbor—and healed by the hands of his wife, Telmaine. Soon he finds himself drawn deeper into political intrigue and magical attacks, while Telmaine must confront a power she can no longer keep sheathed in gloves, a power she neither wants nor can control.

That looks really good Stephanie! I'll have to go hunt it down this week :)

Hmm, well, Darkborn is actually part of a trilogy, so can it be considered a stand alone novel?

oh really.. it didnt say it.. ok i will re pick then. sorry about that...

i am hoping this one is a stand alone.
this one looks great :)
The Betrayal by Pati Nagle

The noble and magical aelven were riven by war when a rogue clan embraced a forbidden source of magic: the drinking of blood. In the bitter fighting that ensued, the vampiric Clan Darkshore were cast out of the aelven and driven across the Ebon Mountains. Stripped of their various clan colors, they were thenceforth known only as “alben,” hated and shunned. An uneasy peace now holds over the land, but it is whispered that Shalár, the beautiful and bloodthirsty queen of the alben, is readying a surprise attack to win back all that was lost–and none can say where or when she will strike.

The fate of the clans will depend on two young aelven lovers, Eliani and Turisan, who are blessed with a legendary gift: the fabled power of mindspeech. But this ability comes with great risks. Time is running out as the alben mount their attack–and their ultimate betrayal.

*Stephanie* wrote: "i am hoping this one is a stand alone.
this one looks great :)
The Betrayal by Pati Nagle

The noble and magical aelven were riven by war when a rogue clan embraced a forbidden so..."

That one does look good. I don't want to keep bursting you bubble though! I checked the author's site and it looks like she's already written book two in this series and it'll be out in late spring/early summer of 2010. Pati Nagle's FAQ

It is hard to find a stand alone title when it comes to Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance. It seems like almost every book is part of a series!

ya.. i was having trouble trying to find anything.. well i can always look for another one.. :)

k i am going to go with this one i know this is a stand alone :) Hobs Bargain by Patricia Briggs

its about
To save her village from ruthless raiders, Aren of Fallbrook strikes a bargain with the Hob, a magical, humanlike creature imbued with the power of the mountains. But the Hob will exact a heavy price to defend the village--a price Aren herself must pay.

From the author's website:
A stand-alone novel featuring an untrained mage and a magical creature with a flirtatious tail, set in its own world.

sorry for the mix up.. its very hard to pick a stand alone when it doesn't say if its a series or not.. :

The book I would nominate isn't a stand alone book. I havn't read Twilight yet.

Hobbs Bargain is pretty good. I love everything by Briggs so I will be interested in what folks think. I read it a little less than two years ago.

This book is pure, traditional fantasy.

I've owned Hob's Bargain for close to 2 years now & keep meaning to read it. Group Reads tend to be just the motivation I need!

We'll start discussions for The Hob's Bargain on September 15th.

i just picked up the book today... i cant wait to read it... also i picked up Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs... Briggs is one of my favorite authors she knows how to tell a story :)

Darkborn looks good. I put it on my amazon wishlist.

I am new the members choice must be a stand alone only or can it be the first in a series. Just info for future use needed :)

We're doing just Stand Alone books for our Member's Choice right now. That way if you don't want to get started on a new series you can still join in on a group read.

The only other real requirement is that it has Paranormal elements. It can be Urban Fantasy (UF), Paranormal Romance (PNR), Young Adult (YA), Horror, Fantasy. Really anything with something Paranormal.

Ahhh I see its the catagory for this member's choice. Thank you

It's actually the way we are doing the Member's Choice each month. I said "right now" because eventually we'll have to change it as Stand-Alone novels are actually hard to find - especially for those that like PNR & UF.

I really wish more authors did Stand-Alone books. I love a good series but right now I'm waiting for over 25 books to be released just in series that I'm all caught up in - it's getting a little out of hand :)

LOL I think I have it now. You are so right on the stand alone thing. I wish more would becasue I like to break up series. Sometimes you read too many in a row and it ruins the fun. Yet if you start a new series you have to series going

Shanon and Stephanie, the bookshelf is set for only mods to add books. Did you want to keep it that way, because I know some shelves can get out of control, or do you want the group adding books to the stand alone shelf?

I've got it changed so anyone can add books - but please everyone let's just stick to Stand Alone books & be sure to add them to the Stand Alone Idea shelf as well.

The system will default to 'Read' which if fine. That will keep our To-Read shelf clean for books we're planning on reading. There's a link on the front page that says "More upcoming books..." that leads directly to the To-Read shelf which means it will be for our chosen group reads.

So to recap - please leave the books you add on the Read shelf & add them to the Stand-Alone-Ideas shelf as well.

THANKS

Thanks Shanon, Hope I do it right. I'll add a handful I found from my shelves.

It's actually really easy to add books (probably why in some groups the bookshelf is out of control!)

If anyone has problems just add the book however you can - I'll fix them as I find problems - no big deal. I'd really rather you add the Stand-Alones than be afraid of my anal nature :)

No it's my anal nature I'm afraid of :)

Depressing, I only found 4 from my shelves that would fit the bill, without raiding my horror shelf. I know I'll find a bunch there, though I did choose 2 horrors off the top of my head that I know are stand alones. I tried real hard to find UF/PNR.

UF & PNR are SO hard to find Stand-Alone's for. I'll add some soon but I've only got a couple in mind really.

Thinking about it though UF really opens up if you start looking at authors like Gaiman, McKinley and others that I'm forgetting right now.

Yes, many Gaiman books would work. Actually, all I think. I do not think he has any series. I looked through my authors instead and found a few like Gaiman. Ray Bradbury would work, and Christopher Moore.

Also, I think Meyer's is working on a sequel to The Host.

Stephen King would work too.

when i was trying to pick for September's members pick i found it very hard to come across stand alone books. so having a book shelf full of them will make it easier in the future for member's to pick..