Coordinating reading books in groups

[Michael]

[Edit: Actually, I'm going to use this post for the schedule, so it is easy to find at the top of the page.]

Here is the schedule so far, I will try to update this as we make decisions for the year:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - January 15
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi - February 15
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - March 15
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - March 15

[Michael]

Hey, Richard, are you still watching this thread?

You and I have the most books to read after Sarah. (We have 17 and 15 books in the top 23). I've been doubling her up on some months to read two books, can I do the same for you? Or are you only able to commit to one book a month?

Let me know! I'm trying to pack in the largest number of books since there are so many popular ones, but it is starting to get difficult!

Note to self: Updated the spreadsheet through this post.

[Richard]

Hi, Michael. I can try, but I am a slow reader. I do try to work on things, ways to improve my speed, but it always results in reducing my ability to remember well what I have read. If I try but fail please understand. My efforts are genuine, and I am about to embark on a new chapter in my life of managing the legal and financial responsibilities of my family since I lost both my parents in the recent months. Again I will try and if I run into trouble I will get with you off the threads, privately, on what I am encountering as far as troubles might be concerned. Sound reasonable?

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The address above is my latest list of books completed on our group's bookshelf. Please add as needed to my votes count if it will help. Several of the ones from last year may not appear that I would read,but as my list shows I already did. Hope that helps. It is post 251 in the How Many of Our Club Books Have You Read discussion.

[Steve]

I will double up as you need. I am a fairly fast reader.

[Michael]

Thanks for the reply, Richard. Sorry to hear about your losses this year. I wish you the best in your new transitions.

It sounds like you and I share the similar problem of only being able to commit to one book per month, but more than 12 of our books have made it into the top list. With that in mind, could you please give me a rank order of the 15 books below? If I can prioritize your list, then I can double up your low priority ones and you can just skip them if you don't have time. Does that work?

Here are the 15 books I need you to rank in order of priority for your reading:

Handmaid's Tale, The Han X R S E H J P U (9)
Ready Player One Ready P M X R S E J O U (9)
Neuromancer Neuromancer X R S E H D Z (8)
American Gods American G X R S V A U (7)
1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 M X R S P (6)
Altered Carbon Altered C X R S V H D (6)
Dispossessed, The Dispos M X R S O (6)
Foundation Foundation Fo X R S V C F (6)
Word for World is Forest X R S D (6)
City & The City, The Cit M X R S (5)
Martian Chronicles, The X R V C E (5)
Promise of Blood, The Pr R V C E J (5)
Warbreaker Warbreaker Wa X R V J Z (5)
World War Z World War Z X R S E (5)
Red Mars Red Mars Red Ma M R S D (4)

Thanks!

[Michael]

Steve wrote: "I will double up as you need. I am a fairly fast reader."

Thanks, but I don't have the same ranking issues with you, since you are reading whatever the group decides. It seems pretty definite that we will have a lot of months with two books, so anyone who has said they will read "whatever" will have to double up or pick between the two options. Glad you're a fast reader!

[M.L.]

Take care, Richard. Wish you the best.

[Richard]

Any time, Michael, any time at all. Thanks for the well wishes. Gonna need all that help I can muster!

[Richard]

Michael wrote: "Thanks for the reply, Richard. Sorry to hear about your losses this year. I wish you the best in your new transitions.

It sounds like you and I share the similar problem of only being able to co..."

TBRL -- WILL TRY READ CONCURRENTLY WITH THE GROUP

Ready Player One Ready P M X R S E J O U (9)
Neuromancer Neuromancer X R S E H D Z (8)
American Gods American G X R S V A U (7)
1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 M X R S P (6)
Altered Carbon Altered C X R S V H D (6)
Dispossessed, The Dispos M X R S O (6)
Foundation Foundation Fo X R S V C F (6)
Word for World is Forest X R S D (6)
City & The City, The Cit M X R S (5)
Martian Chronicles, The X R V C E (5)
World War Z World War Z X R S E (5)
Red Mars Red Mars Red Ma M R S D (4)

CURRENTLY READING

Handmaid's Tale, The Han X R S E H J P U (9)

PARTIALLY READ -- WILL CONCENTRATE ON THESE FOR MONTHS WHERE I HAVE READ SELECTIONS PREVIOUSLY READ.

Promise of Blood, The Pr R V C E J (5)
Warbreaker Warbreaker Wa X R V J Z (5)

Hope that helps.

[Michael]

Richard wrote: "Michael wrote: "Thanks for the reply, Richard. Sorry to hear about your losses this year. I wish you the best in your new transitions.

It sounds like you and I share the similar problem of only ..."

Thanks, can you take one out of that top list so I just have 11? Since you are reading Handmaid's now I'm counting that as the twelfth month.

[Michael]

Actually, that might be okay because we already proposed doubling up Martian Chronicles and Ready Player One in March. For your purposes, that might be good because Martian Chronicles might be the shortest book on the list.

[Sarah]

It's also a collection of short stories which I think makes it easier to read over time rather than all at once.

[Ruth]

Besides the ones I already mentioned, I'd like to reread Fahrenheit 451 and join in the discussions for Fuzzy Nation and Old Man's War. Would also like to read Red Mars since it's been on my TBR list.

[B.H.]

I'm currently reading Handmaid's Tale
next: Neuromancer
American Gods
Word for World is Forest
Ready Player One
Altered Carbon
1Q84
Foundation
The Dispossessed
The City and the City
Martian Chronicles
Red Mars
I am unlikely to read World War Z

[Michael]

Barbara wrote: "I'm currently reading Handmaid's Tale
next: Neuromancer
American Gods
..."

Ahhh! More votes, more votes!

Barbara, since you are planning on reading so many books, can I also put you on the list of people who can double up on some months?

[Sarah]

Michael wrote: "Ahhh! More votes, more votes!

LOL! Are you overwhelmed or happy?

[Sarah]

Do me a favor and don't schedule 1Q84 with Tigana? Please? Tigana is almost 700 pages and it looks like it's going to be absorbing and complicated.

[Michael]

Sarah wrote: "Michael wrote: "Ahhh! More votes, more votes!

LOL! Are you overwhelmed or happy?"

Actually it is starting to get a little confusing. Although the weird thing is, we now have 15 books with 6 or more votes, so the 5 vote books might not make it! As more people vote, it is harder to double up books without conflicts.

Sarah wrote: "Do me a favor and don't schedule 1Q84 with Tigana? Please? Tigana is almost 700 pages and it looks like it's going to be absorbing and complicated."

That's a good idea, it looked like I had some freedom there and City & City or Ready Player One would work better with Tigana, if Barbara doesn't mind doubling up...

[Sarah]

Wow, that's a lot of votes.

[Sarah]

Try not to kill yourself Michael. If there are conflicts we can choose whatever works best for us.

[Michael]

:)

[B.H.]

Michael wrote: "Barbara wrote: "I'm currently reading Handmaid's Tale
next: Neuromancer
American Gods
..."

Ahhh! More votes, more votes!

Barbara, since you are planning on reading so many books, can..."

Of course!

[B.H.]

Sarah wrote: "Do me a favor and don't schedule 1Q84 with Tigana? Please? Tigana is almost 700 pages and it looks like it's going to be absorbing and complicated."

I have read Tigan, and I love the book but it is intense. I agree.

[B.H.]

Michael wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Michael wrote: "Ahhh! More votes, more votes!

LOL! Are you overwhelmed or happy?"

Actually it is starting to get a little confusing. Although the weird thing is, we now have 15 boo..."

I don't!

[Michael]

Thanks, Barbara!

Note to self: Updated the spreadsheet through this post.

[Michael]

And now the moment you've all been waiting for! I have finished analyzing the final tallies, which I updated here: my vote tally post.

There are 22 books with 4 or more votes (I took my name off Zodiac so it dropped off), and they are the following:

 (11) Fuzzy Nation Fuzzy Natio S X V L U E C J O P Z 
 (10) Ready Player One Ready P S X R B M L U E J O 
 (09) Handmaid's Tale, The Han S X R B U E H J P 
 (08) Neuromancer Neuromancer S X R B D E H Z 
 (07) 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 S X R B M L P 
 (07) Altered Carbon Altered C S X R B V D H 
 (07) American Gods American G S R B V L U A 
 (06) City & The City, The Cit S X R B M L 
 (06) Dispossessed, The Dispos S X R B M O 
 (06) Foundation Foundation Fo S R B V C F 
 (06) Old Man's War Old Man's S V U C F Z 
 (06) Red Mars Red Mars Red Ma S R B D M U 
 (06) Word for World is Forest S X R B D L 
 (05) Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenhei S D M U F 
 (05) Martian Chronicles, The R B V E C 
 (05) Promise of Blood, The Pr R V E C J 
 (05) Snow Queen, The Snow Que S B D M P 
 (05) Tigana Tigana Tigana Tig S B V D Z 
 (04) Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn S V D O 
 (04) Long Earth, The Long Ear S V D L 
 (04) Warbreaker Warbreaker Wa R V J Z 
 (04) World War Z World War Z S R L E 

I was able to do some fancy sorting and have the following schedule to propose, with a possible addendum:

JAN
 (09) Handmaid's Tale, The Han S X R B U E H J P 311pp
FEB
 (11) Fuzzy Nation Fuzzy Natio S X V L U E C J O P Z 303pp
 (06) Red Mars Red Mars Red Ma S R B D M U 572pp
MAR
 (10) Ready Player One Ready P S X R B M L U E J O 374pp
 (05) Martian Chronicles, The R B V E C 182pp
APR
 (08) Neuromancer Neuromancer S X R B D E H Z 271pp
 (05) Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenhei S D M U F 227pp
MAY
 (06) Foundation Foundation Fo S R B V C F 256pp
 (05) Snow Queen, The Snow Que S B D M P 448pp
JUN
 (06) City & The City, The Cit S X R B M L 312pp
 (05) Tigana Tigana Tigana Tig S B V D Z 676pp
JUL
 (07) Altered Carbon Altered C S X R B V D H 526pp
 (05) Promise of Blood, The Pr R V E C J 545pp
AUG
 (07) American Gods American G S R B V L U A 656pp
SEP
 (07) 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 1Q84 S X R B M L P 925pp
 (04) Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn Dawn S V D O 248pp
OCT
 (06) Old Man's War Old Man's S V U C F Z 314pp
 (06) Word for World is Forest S X R B D L 189pp
NOV
 (04) World War Z World War Z S R L E 342pp
 (04) Warbreaker Warbreaker Wa R V J Z 688pp
DEC
 (06) Dispossessed, The Dispos S X R B M O 387pp
 (04) Long Earth, The Long Ear S V D L 336pp

(Notice I've clumped them by month so you can see the order, the page count damage, and any potential "doubling up" some readers have to do.) Sarah, Barbara, and in some cases Richard and Edwin, have already agreed to double up. By looking line-by-line, you will notice the other conflicts are U (Ruth) for February, D (Sandi) for April, and V (Valerie) for July.

Proposed addendum: I noticed that we could actually schedule World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Warbreaker, and Fahrenheit 451 all for the same month with no extra conflicts. This would eliminate Sandi's conflict with Neuromancer. That sounds crazy even to me, but let me know if anyone thinks it is a good idea.

Other than that, I'm very pleased with the list (and a little boggled that we are planning 22 books). If people want to switch around some months, post it so we can see what people think. I tried to break up some of the bigger months, and I tried to put Neuromancer before Altered Carbon, just because I think we should read the book that started it all before another cyberpunk book (although technically that bird may have flown with Ready Player One).

Whaddayall think??

[Edit: to add some zeros for lining things up, and to add months]

[Sarah]

Michael wrote: "Proposed addendum: I noticed that we could actually schedule World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Warbreaker, and Fahrenheit 451 all for the same month with no extra conflicts. This would eliminate Sandi's conflict with Neuromancer. That sounds crazy even to me, but let me know if anyone thinks it is a good idea ..."

Well of course I think that's perfectly fine ;) One thing to note is that Fahrenheit 451 and Neuromancer are both actually quite short. The two are less than 500 pages in total.

My only real comment on the list is that we should probably read The Dispossessed before The Word for World is Forest, unless the order of the books doesn't matter within the series.

Thanks for all of your work Michael! It looks absolutely fantastic.

[Sarah]

Oh, and Maggie, if you have extra time do you want to do a buddy read of Zodiac?

[Michael]

Sarah wrote: "My only real comment on the list is that we should probably read The Dispossessed before The Word for World is Forest, unless the order of the books doesn't matter within the series.

Thanks for all of your work Michael! It looks absolutely fantastic."

Great, thanks!

LeGuin's "Hainish Cycle" can be read in any order, they just take place in the same universe. But I don't have a problem switching December and October around to make it official, if people like the idea.

[Sarah]

Let's see what others think. It kills my OCD to read things out of order but I can just read The Dispossessed earlier. Like after I finally read The Left Hand of Darkness!

[Michael]

Ha! Did you actually read the first 3, or are you just reading the ones on the bookshelf? I had started Rocannon's World last year, but put it on hold, and it looks like I will be keeping it on pause in order to do these group reads...

[Edwin]

Sarah wrote: "Thanks for all of your work Michael! It looks absolutely fantastic."

Yes, I heartily agree. Your proposals look great to me. Nice job.

[Sarah]

I read Rocannon's World but it was rather boring. Still, I will persevere and read 2 and 3 because I'm totally not kidding about that OCD thing. I have to read those before I can get to Left Hand. And I REALLY want to read that one.

[B.H.]

Michael wrote: "And now the moment you've all been waiting for! I have finished analyzing the final tallies, which I updated here: my vote tally post.

There are 22 books with 4 or more votes (I took my name off ..."

I have no problem with your putting three books on for a single month, but then, I'm not reading any of them (smirk).

[Sarah]

Nice, Barbara :)

[B.H.]

I read all these Leguin books when they first came out. They are long overdue re-reads for me. The Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorites of hers, Sarah, and you should definitely read it!

[Richard]

Michael wrote: "Richard wrote: "Michael wrote: "Thanks for the reply, Richard. Sorry to hear about your losses this year. I wish you the best in your new transitions.

It sounds like you and I share the similar ..."

Foundation is the other one on the list that I have already read three different times in the past. Can't let Psychohistory go. DON'T KNOW WHY!?!?

The list revision in post 426 looks good to me. There are a couple of double reads for me, but not insurmountable. Don't change anything for my benefit, Michael. I will go with the majority and make do as best I can.

[Sandi]

This is an amazing list. And, don't worry about doubling me up, I read pretty quickly, especially when I enjoy what I am reading.

[B.H.]

I had not checked out The Long Earth, but I think I will read it too.

[Sarah]

The Long Earth is actually pretty interesting. I'd like to read the whole trilogy.

[Edwin]

Sarah wrote: "The Long Earth is actually pretty interesting. I'd like to read the whole trilogy."

I thought the first one was "good", the second one was "meh" and the third, well I'm debating about whether to read the third or not.

[Maggie]

Sarah wrote: "Michael wrote: "Proposed addendum: I noticed that we could actually schedule World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, Warbreaker,


Well of course I think that's perfectly fine ;) One thing to note is that Fahrenheit 451 and Neuromancer are both actually quite short. The two are less than 500 pages in total.

My only real comment on the list is that we should probably read The Dispossessed before The Word for World is Forest, unless the order of the books doesn't matter within the series.
..."

I agree with tripling up!
I also agree with Sarah's sentiment regarding the timing of The Dispossessed-I would also note that in another group some of us belong to, it looks as though will be reading The Dispossessed in April...if we can switch ours to around the same time (either April or May) this would solve that problem and this schedule would be perfect for me....

but if that doesn't work for others then I understand

[Sarah]

Edwin, I thought The Long Earth was more interesting than good. It was very creative but lacked suspense. But the creativity was kind of intriguing.

[Edwin]

Sarah wrote: "Edwin, I thought The Long Earth was more interesting than good. It was very creative but lacked suspense. But the creativity was kind of intriguing."

Yeah, that is a good way of summarizing. Unfortunately, at least for me, the second book didn't add anything much in the creative department and again lacked suspense. Meh.

[Edwin]

Barbara wrote: "I have no problem with your putting three books on for a single month, but then, I'm not reading any of them (smirk)."

Similar for me. As much as I love this group and everyone in it, there is just too much other good stuff out there for me to regularly commit to more that 1 and occasionally 2 side reads per month.

Besides, there are also those 24 monthly pics that will be tempting me too, like BOTH of the February choices that I want to read.

Geez, you guys make it hard.

[Ruth]

I don't have a conflict with Feb. I already read Fuzzy Nation and was just planning on skimming through it to refresh my memory.

[Valerie]

Great work, Michael. It sounds like a good schedule to me. Now, I can try to track down copies through the library.

Thank you for the effort. I also like the inclusion of page counts...it helps for planning.

I am going to try to work ahead for July to fit both books in.

[Silvio]

The Word for World is Forest and The Dispossessed are mostly independent, but there is a small link which I think would make it better to read The Dispossessed first. (view spoiler)[I mean the invention of the ansible. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Can we just swap the two books? I'm on my phone so I can't see it well but it doesn't look like there are conflicts.

[Michael]

It sounds like tripling up could go either way, so let me chime in: my main concern was Sandi, since Sandi was the only one who would have two books instead of one (Sarah has two books no matter which month). Since Sandi is okay with it, I think I would rather leave it in April, because other people may want to join some of these discussions, and it will be easier for them if there are just two books to choose from per month. Let me know if that is still a problem for anyone...