SA Book & Challenge Lovers discussion
Monthly Nominations
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BoM's from now on (will keep list updated)
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October 2013
November - December
January - February
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Maybe I should have brought this up in the previous discussion, but it might be an idea to share why you nominate a certain book or author. And then not just say that it seems like an interesting read but also tell us why it seems interesting. In 5 sentences or less. That might get others excited about the book or author.
Barbara wrote: "Mostly I don't read the BoM because I never heard of it and since I have so many books I already want to read I just don't want to take the time to discover if it is something I want to read and or spend my money on buying."I'm similarly lazy if I haven't heard of the book (and I haven't heard of most of them either), especially if it looks like something I don't normally read. I assume whoever nominates it thinks it's interesting, but that doesn't matter much to me if our tastes differ (which is usually the case). I'd need more motivation to check out the book.
Normally I only read the BoM if it's already part of my reading schedule or if it's not too much trouble to fit it in (ie. I have the book, it's an easy-ish read, I can use it for challenges, I'm supposed to review it, etc.) I'm more likely to make an effort if I can expect an actual conversation. I hate it when I'm the only one who reads the BoM (happened a few times), or the comments are very brief, just one or two lines about whether it was nice or not. The main reason for having a BoM is to talk about it, so if I see that no one's talking about it, or there's very little to say, then why bother?
I'm more encouraged to read a book if I see the thread becoming active with substantial comments. Hopefully the Discussion Hosts will help with this, and we will choose better-known books that more people would like to talk about.
Just to add something about conversation - recently The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield was chosen as our BoM. It's a very popular book, lots of people love it, it's the kind of book I'd normally read anyway, and I have a copy. The only problem was that I wasn't sure if I had time to read it, but I could make time. However, no one made any real comments (Riana said she would read it, I said I wanted to, and that was the end of it) so I didn't bother.On the other hand, when we read A Game of Thrones the thread got so lively with discussion that I remember someone saying they needed to read it asap to get into the conversation. I would feel the same, unless it's something I really don't want to read.
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I don't read BoM since I mood read and thus can never plan what I will read ahead of time because I know that I won't stick to the plan.
Mostly, lack of planning on my part.Also, I agree with Lauren, there hasn't been any real discussions around the books chosen, so I don't feel compelled to read it in the month chosen. Even though it's something I want to read, I just add it to my list and read it when I have time.
Hopefully the changes made will encourage more participation.
I don't usually read the BOM as I might not know the author or book and I have such a collection I need to get through I don;t necessarily want to purchase a book.
I agree with all the comments. I got a little reader's block in the beginning of year and if the title (or cover) didn't jump at me, I did not investigate further. Also I am not a literary person (like most of you :), I want to read for the enjoyment. Sometimes I just got the impression that a book would be "too deep" for me and I skipped finding out about it. I think it is a good idea about giving a sentence or two about the book and now that we will have hosts, it will make it all more lively and much more fun. And FUN is important! :)
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Or are you talking about the way we do the theme?
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Chrizette wrote: "Also I am not a literary person (like most of you :), I want to read for the enjoyment. Sometimes I just got the impression that a book would be "too deep" for me and I skipped finding out about it. "Discussion isn't necessarily literary discussion, so don't worry too much about that :) On the contrary we have very few literary BoMs (I think; I'm guilty of not checking them out too). I think the more complex discussions are usually just about the logic of a novel, like how the time travel in The Shining Girls works or why some plot development doesn't make sense in terms of worldbuilding. A lot of the discussion is simpler stuff about character - who we love or hate and why. I remember Lu and I arguing about loving and hating Arya and Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones. And that was a lot of fun :)
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Yea it might work and give people more time to plan if it goes on for 2 months?
I remember Lu and I arguing about loving and hating Arya and Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones. And that was a lot of fun :)
*still grumbling about Arya*
Lu (Sugar & Snark) wrote: "*still grumbling about Arya* "*shakes head in disappointment*
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I have no opinion on Arya, but yes that was my original thought process. Longer to plan.
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Fine with me, I might then decide to read the choices :)
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Will set up polls and what not now-ish!
SA Book & Challenge Lovers
Books mentioned in this topic
Steel Wind Rising (other topics)Forbidden (other topics)
* There will be 2 reads as usual. One open-ended, and one nominated based on a theme.
* We are taking away the new release and instead moving this to Netgalley discussion where people can ask for buddy reads: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
* Each read will last for 2 months to give everyone enough time to read. So in effect there will be 4 reads each month as the 2 from let's say October will overlap with those of November.
* Author of the month will also last 2 months
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Discussion Hosts
We decided to try implementing Discussion Hosts to guide challenges. Very simply, the Host can be anyone who commits to:
1. Reading the BoM or a book by the AoM at the beginning of the month
2. Starting the discussion by posting comments. Nothing fancy, just your thoughts as you read, and a few simple questions for readers to think and talk about. Anything else you want to do - like post some trivia, links, make a reading schedule etc. is up to you
There won't be any major changes to the nomination and voting process. When you nominate an author or book, just state whether you're willing to act as Host for the discussion too. You may also offer to be Host for someone else's nomination.
For voting, hosted discussions will be marked out in the list, eg.
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (hosted)
- Parasite by Mira Grant
- Equations of Life by Simon Morden (hosted)
- The Never List by Koethi Zan
You don't have to offer to host in order to nominate a book or author. If you can though, then please do. It's nothing complicated, you're simply a guaranteed participant who gets the ball rolling. The challenges will carry on as usual if no one offers to host or if the chosen book/author does not have a Host.
We know that life can get in the way of our plans though, so you'll need to inform the group somehow if you can no longer host or if you'll only be able to read the book later in the month.
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If you don't normally participate in the Book of the Month reads. Please comment below telling us why. Not interested in commenting or discussing books with group members? Don't like the books being picked? Don't know when to nominate?
Any feedback would be appreciated!