Happy Valentine’s Day!
- By: Jessica Faust | Date: Feb 14 2012
I have to admit, this is one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn’t love the idea of a celebration of love and friendship? For Valentine’s Day this year I wanted to change things up a little, and thanks to my public library I came up with this terrific idea. Okay, I stole this terrific idea.
Today we’re going to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a Blind Book Date. How it works is that you comment in the comments with your favorite book, and the person who has commented before you has to read that book. In other words, it’s a blind date with a book.
How it works: The very first commenter will post the title and author of a book he or she loves. Since no one has commented before them, that will be the book I will read. Then, the first commenter’s blind date with a book will come from commenter #2, and so on and so on. If you’d like, you should also feel free to include some information on what the book is about or why you love the book.
The event will end at midnight on February 14, EST. At that time (or soon thereafter) I will post my book (the final blind date offering). Then, I’d like all of us to return on March 19 to discuss our experiences. Did we love the book? Hate the book? Was it something different, maybe a genre we’d never read? I’ll post some questions on March 19 for us to discuss.
The only rules are that you are NOT allowed to post the title of a book you have written. This is not an opportunity for self-promotion, but an event for readers and book lovers. If you want to post the book of a friend I can’t stop you from doing that, but I hope that we all look at it as readers and not writers and post books we love, books that have changed us or that we just want others to experience.
I debated requiring that the book be available in print and ebook, but I don’t want to rule out the fact that you might have read a book you love that’s only available in ebook format. What I would suggest, however, is that if you’re debating between two books, pick the one that’s available in both print and ebook format to give those readers who haven’t yet gone tech the opportunity to read the book as well.
And finally, there are no rules regarding genre. A pick you love could be new, a classic, YA or horror, romance or mystery. Whatever it is, please share it. I’m eager to see what everyone comes up with and what we’ll all be reading.
Enjoy!
Jessica
**one additional note. Any comments that are specifically to promote your work will be deleted. Thanks.
"The Temple of My Familiar" by Alice Walker.
Great idea! 🙂
Welcome To Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN
by Garth Stein
It has changed every assumption I have had regarding two of the greatest loves of my life, my old girl Brandy and Harley, my special boy.
THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfield
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine.
I love a fairy tale that is driven by the relationship between sisters.
BET ME by Jennifer Crusie
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. The story resonated with me and gave me the motivation to write stories.
Mistyped the book title!
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende.
I read this book of short stories weeks ago and I'm still thinking about it. Beautiful language, beautiful stories. Highly recommend.
Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
TENDER GRACES by Kathryn Magendie. First in a trilogy and makes me wish I could write like that. Amazing journey of southern women's fiction that will stay with you forever.
JIM THE BOY by Tony Early
EVENING by Susan Minot
Possession by A. S. Byatt.
Loving this idea.
Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I didn't think it'd be so hard to pick one book! I have a lot of favorites, but I tried to pick one that I thought other people might like who might not share my love of children's and teen literature 🙂
THE WAY OF KINGS by Brandon Sanderson
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith.
What a cool idea!
Lives – Perception is Reality by JJ McMoon
Just finished reading it, and couldn't put it down.
Lovely idea.
How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff
FIRELIGHT by Kristen Callihan
THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler.
Fun concept!
Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
It's a bit controversial, but it's such an amazing read.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
"The Eight" by Katherine Neville.
Very fun, Jessica. Happy Valentine's Day!
I'm giving a choice of two very different books, just because one isn't widely available anymore…
WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE by Peter Hedges
(One of my favorite books of all time. It's available in pb online, but not in ebook and probably not in brick and mortar stores.)
INTENSITY by Dean Koontz
(A masterpiece of suspense, in my opinion.)
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
It's a classic and so much fun to read.
"Jumpstart the World," by Catherine Ryan Hyde
It's a great YA, not too long, and has a strong message. (Hyde is also the author of "Pay it Forward")
A Soldier's Duty by Jean Johnson (the first in the series "Theirs bot to reason why")
A sf book that I still think about although it was about 6 months since I read it.
"Chronicles of Amber" by Roger Zelazny
It's a series of SciFi/Fa books, but you only need to read the 1st one 🙂
Although you'll probably be so hooked, you'll want to finish the series.
Shadow Bound by Erin Kelllison
Dark Fantasy meets Modern Fairy tale
Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
Great characters, great pace, great story.
Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck
Great Idea.
DOOMSDAY BOOK by Connie Willis.
Such fun!
Regeneration, by Pat Barker
Poetry and Science in WWI
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
AMAZING book. Historical fiction. Enjoy!
Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow
Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
This is my "chicken soup" book (but then I'm really weird…lol)
Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith.
and i LOVE this idea, stolen or not. it's a great way to add to my 'must read' list!
The Duke by Gaelen Foley.
This is one of my favorite historical romances. It came up at a recent BookEnds' meeting and made me want to read it all over again.
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin.
I adore this book, which kicks off a medieval mystery series along the lines of Kay Scarpetta meets the Canterbury Tales. Beautifully written, evocative, and chock full of action, adventure, and romance, it is simply wonderful.
Bride by Mistake by Anne Gracie
Fabulous book!
1434 by Gavin Menzies
Who knew the Chinese were so adventursome back then? and then to throw it all away when a new regime came to the throne – some things never change.
THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern.
I really enjoyed this book, more than I expected to. I reviewed it on my blog, but suffice to say, if you're not crazy about circuses, don't be put off. It's not about your traditional kind of circus…
"Breath, Eyes, Memory," by Edwidge Danticat.
Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
It's a wonderful story about turning your life around and doing what you love, and finding real love. I can't tell you how many times I re-read it… 🙂
Duncan by Edith Templeton
Banned in Britain in the 1960s, for being too erotic, tame by today's standards but witty.
So sorry, I meant Gordon by Edith Templeton. How do I delete the above?
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning. It's an Urban Fantasy and the first book in a five book series. Trust me, you'll want to read the other four books.
What an awesome idea!
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Love that book on so many levels.
BE ME by Jennifer Crusie–love that book, it's so cute and perfect for Valentine's Day.
"A Prayer For Owen Meany" by John Irving.
This book is comical yet with dark overtones. Makes you wonder about the forces that surround us.
"Lisey's Story" by Stephen King. A woman's writer husband just died and she discovers the place where he got his inspirations.
The Fault in our Stars by John Green
The daughter of smoke and bone, by Laini Taylor
-Susan
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
A really moving story about an exceptional child in 1940's South Africa
"Hotel World" by Ali Smith.
<3 <3 <3
Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre.
Great character story about the horribleness of being a teenager. And also about injustice and prejudice and the law – reminds me a little of To Kill a Mockingbird, only without Atticus Finch, because there are no Atticus Finches in the world of 24 hour headline news.
I love this idea!
A long-standing favorite book is The Princess Bride by S. Morgenstern. Unfortunately, the original has been out of print for ages and is almost impossible to find nowadays. Fortunately, William Goldman's abridged version is excellent, and comes highly suggested.
The Enormous Room by e e cummings
Excellent idea. 🙂
I'll pass on the most recent book I'm reading. A Lady Never Trilfes with Thieves by Suzann Ledbetter
Instead of a Letter, by Diana Athill
This is pretty amazing.
My favorite book is still Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I hope you like it.
nThe Bear Went Over the Mountain: A Novel by William Kotzwinkle. Very funny and especially apropriate for readers of this blog.
I will list two, in case you have already read one. Please choose whichever one is unfamiliar to you. If both are unfamiliar, please read the first. 🙂
1) "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner
2) "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
The book Thief!
Perfect by Judith McNaught
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler.
Love this idea! I want to try everything on the list!
I have two. One easy to find and one not so much:
"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Anne Barrows. A love story set in WWII all in letter format. Just fabulous!
"The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" by R.A. Dick. A great love story turned into a movie that is a classic.
Fantastic way to get everyone reading, oh so cool beans!
I'm going to go with suggesting something by my absolute favorite author, Lois McMaster Bujold: The Curse of Chalion.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
It's about the difficulty of connecting with others and isolation, shattered dreams, racism and misfits. It also happens to be beautifully written.
Thank you everyone. This is an amazing list of books. I wish I could just click "send" to add all of them to my B&N cart. To end I'm posting the final read: The Peach Keeper by Sara Addison Allen.
Enjoy!
Jessica