Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Addicts discussion
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The problem I have is that I do not want all the sub groups for the ones that I am interested in, but it will not let me stop the email for the sub groups. I am to the point where the emails for the subgroups that I do not want are more than the groups I want and there fore I do read the emails but delete them most of the time.I have put in a complaint about this to the admins but have not received a response. I am about to the point where I am going to unsubscribe to All of the good reads email.
Personally I never paid attention to group and buddy reads until a few months back; now I'm a big fan of them.If I see nominations I don't have or plan yet, I won't vote or participate. If I do vote, I plan on participating.
I'm in one group where the rules are so strict it's not fun at all. (Classics for Beginners.) They REFUSE to do re-reads so if a 'popular' classic has already been read, you'll never be able to read it in that group. Not to mention you can only read an author once a year.Then there's the classics group (Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) ) where they have multiple books going on a month. They have a 3 month read for longer books, an older classic (before 1900) and a 'modern' classic for those books that have become relevant but aren't over 50 years old, and finally they have a re-read book where anything that's been read before can be nominated on again which is much more friendly.
I am in 10 or so groups because I read a variety of genres (but don't worry, fantasy is my fave =) .) Some are extremely active and others will go days without a comment showing up on the discussion feed. The ones that are most active do more buddy reads or pick-it-for-me type of reads. One does a battle of the books every month, which I like the concept of, but when a pair is chosen and I am completely uninterested in one of the books I don't participate. Another group focuses on challenges by giving out badges but the members are typically very hardcore readers. I read 10 or so books a month and they put me to shame.
I notice that in this group in particular there are sooo many nominations and votes each month, but it doesn't seem like very many people actually read the winning books. Why vote if you have no intention of reading the book? I try to read them all, unless it is overly romantic or erotic. I tend to roll my eyes at that stuff lol I do like how we split up young adult and adult so don't change that!!!
I try to nominate a free or very cheap book each time because books can be really expensive, especially reading 6+ a month. Maybe it would be good to create a buddy read folder where people can ask members to read a book or series based on age range, what the book is about (witches, vamps, weres, ghosts, cozies, etc), or even price range.
One thing I would recommend is moving the poll to the middle of the month. That way people can get on a waiting list at their library or find a copy of the book. Most groups do it pretty far in advance. I already voted on the March BOTM for another group last week!
Thanks for the comments so far! Keep it going!
Are you referring to this group? Let's make sure we keep the comments relevant to THIS group and subject (group reads), as well as keeping things positive. It's fine to tell us the things you don't like about how a group read might be run, but let's focus on how to make OUR group reads better.
Sorry. I love this group. I'll refrain. Really sorry, sorry,. sorry.
I haven't been active before this year but I was starting to hit a lump in reading and thought the challenges would be fun. I am also thinking that the group read would be fun for Feb. I think for me it will be what book it is and if I have time to read that or a way to get it into a monthly challenge I am doing :)But I will say I love the idea of reading a series together.
Is there something we can do to encourage more participation in the Book(s) of the Month Discussion boards?
This month in another group one of the girls had an edition of our group read book with the publisher's questions in the back, so she posted them for us to answer. It was a nice way for us to give our opinions, something beyond I liked this book or This book sucked, or the usual no answer at all.I agree with Annie. You'd likely get more participation if we read a series or two together. Some people like to finish out a series before starting something new.
I also like the idea of reading a series in order. My only thought about this is, are we patient enough to read only one book a month? I know I'm not, lol. I'm a binge series reader.......
Ashley wrote: "I also like the idea of reading a series in order. My only thought about this is, are we patient enough to read only one book a month? I know I'm not, lol. I'm a binge series reader......."Even if we just read one book a month as a group...those of us that power ahead could still jump in on the discussion because we've already read it.
Agree with Krysta. I am a binge reader as well Ashley :)If I see a book I have read before is being discussed I will jump in so I think that wouldn't be a problem for me. Though I might try not to jump ahead just to keep the excitement up.
I haven't jumped in the group reads much yet because a) not into YA usually b) the selections don't interest me enough to rearrange my tbr list to fit them in (like bourbon kings). And since i'm in the middle of various series, they're inelligable for nomination.Maybe try a folder for finishing a series where the read-a-long starts halfway through a series?
My biggest thing is I have a book club in real life and work 50+ hrs a week I just don't have time to read all the book I want to in group reads in all of the groups I'm in. I just add them to my TBR list and get to them on my own time.
My other thought is I like see the upcoming books for the next month early in the month before. This let's me get in on waiting lists at libraries etc. to read the book.
Thanks so far for all of your input! We are going to keep this open for a bit longer, to make sure everyone has had a chance to share their thoughts!
Please feel free to comment on this thread anytime you have a suggestion!
Looks like no one the group doesn't have a selected read for February 2018. I would love to read along with a group. Any suggestions? :)
Agreed. I mainly read UF books, but all of the other groups I'm in are very burnt out on UF books and read mostly sci-fi and fantasy. I'd love to be able to look forward to group reads in the category I like the most...
I participate in group reads if I already have the book, so popular series or freebies are good options. What really makes a group read fun is discussion. Questions are fine and can generate discussion, but its nice to just give input and get feedback. "The battle scene was awesome. So well written." "Yeah, it sure was. Loved the part where...." Sadly, I don't ever see that kind of conversation in most group reads. My favorite genres are UF, PNR, and mystery.
Oleander wrote: "I participate in group reads if I already have the book, so popular series or freebies are good options. What really makes a group read fun is discussion. Questions are fine and can generate discus..."I would like to see some group reads with the participants giving feedback and thoughts on the selection. Even if it is one someone has read in the past and wants to give their thoughts about it.
Popular series and freebies are a great idea since this might get more involved.
Oleander wrote: "I participate in group reads if I already have the book, so popular series or freebies are good options. What really makes a group read fun is discussion. Questions are fine and can generate discus..."I absolutely agree. A lot of times, in my experience, lots of people will participate in the vote on what to read and then we don't hear anything after that. I'd love to be a part of an actual back-and-forth exchange of opinions!
They used to do a YA group read and an Adult group read every month but suddenly stopped. There would be lots of nominations and votes but hardly any actual participation in the group read thread so maybe that's why. I miss the group reads because most other groups read only the most hyped up books at the moment. And I always would nominate one book for each group read that was pretty much always free on Amazon.
Yeah, that's similar to my experience, too. Except all of the other groups I'm part of have moved past UF/PNR. There's all this talk of how the market was flooded and there's no new stuff out there and I just don't agree with that. I've tried nominating a few books, but sci-fi or high fantasy usually win out.I just want to read a fun book I'm interested in and talk about it.
As an author, I don't have time to read like I used to, I also don't write YA, but just a suggestion. If you are doing a read a book a month, to discuss and possibly review, rate, maybe worth contacting the author to see if they can gift kindle copies direct to your kindles.
I can't really offer any ideas here. I must be the anomaly as I have never taken part in a challenge or a BOM before. Sorry, I'm a bit selfish that way I suppose, I have tended just to take note of (and shared a few) recs and opinions of specific books/series rather than anything else. I am trying to change this though, I am going to read a book for my first BOM, for a different group after I have finished the one I'm currently on.
Part of the reason is like a few others stated early on I much prefer with a series to binge read it from start to finish. And following a challenge is too restrictive for my reading habits. I don't know if anyone else feels the same or if anything I've said can help? #sorrynotsorry I don't have anything more to add.
Holly, I agree with you about others view of flooding of the market for this sub-genre, but surely the same can be said for most of the popular ones.
Herekittykitty wrote: "Holly, I agree with you about others view of flooding of the market for this sub-genre, but surely the same can be said for most of the popular ones. ."Oh, totally agreed. I don't think people are completely out of new ideas, though. We may just have to search a little more thoroughly to find those gems.
I'm actually part of a different group that is reading this whole series over the course of the year:
.The whole group nominated different series to read and then voted on it. Even though they put up one book in the series every two months as "currently reading" for the group, it's pretty much read-at-your-own-pace. I thought that was pretty cool if you're a binge-reader.
J.F. wrote: "As an author, I don't have time to read like I used to, I also don't write YA, but just a suggestion. If you are doing a read a book a month, to discuss and possibly review, rate, maybe worth conta..."That's a pretty good idea, but I think a mod would need to weigh in. :)
Holly wrote: "Oh, totally agreed. I don't think people are completely out of new ideas, though. We may just have to search a little more thoroughly to find those gems.I'm actually part of a different group that is reading this whole series over the course of the year: Discount Armageddon (InCryptid, #1) by Seanan McGuire."
So true! That sounds like a potential for me...
Here is your chance to give us your input on the monthly Group Reads!
We (the group mods) have been throwing around some ideas on what we could do or change to improve participation and enjoyment of our book of the month group reads.
So, sound off! Are you a member of another group that does a group read differently? What would you like to see more of or less of? Do you like the nomination and/or voting process? What about time frames? Nothing is off limits!
Go!