Random Chit-Chat

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Ugh - I wonder if this is part of the new Goodreads settings. I added a picture today to change the group photo and it made me delete the old one first. I am pretty sure it didn't used to do that.

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

How is everyone? Discussions have been a bit slow in this group . . . hopefully that is because everyone is reading!

I am still hoping to get back to a couple of the selections that I was unable to read during the month they were chosen. All discussions still open! (Anyone want to talk about Infinite Jest?? :))

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Stephanie wrote: "Hi !!

Going to look to read The Time Machine this month. Love that we have a short selection!!!"

Great! I read The Time Machine years ago, but I am willing to get into the discussion (I probably wont re-read since my TBR list is out of control!)

[Kirstin]

Hi! One of these days I'll pick up Infinite Jest again! I've been in a weird reading slump all month. I keep starting books and not finishing them.

Interested in the discussion on Les Miserables when it starts! :)

[Daniel]

Matthew wrote: "Discussions have been a bit slow in this group..."

If it makes you feel any better I'm trying to get a group going but it's so dead! It's been around for over a year, and there is a new book every month and there are ~20 members...but I've only had 3 people ever post anything, and only 1 of those was about a book we were reading. It's here in case anyone wants to join :) https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

I thought the idea, "if you build it they will come" would work, but it ain't workin'. I'm wondering if I should keep it going or let it die...

I think we've got a great group here, and I love the completist theme. We get good participation in the polls and as long as there are even one or two people posting discussion comments for other to follow, I think it's a success!

BTW I'm gearing up to do War & Peace. I started and stopped because I was losing track of who is who (always a problem for me but especially in Russian novels where one person can have five different names). I'll use sparknotes or something as a crutch for the first few chapters to get me going. I'm also excited about Lord of the Flies in April!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Daniel wrote: "Matthew wrote: "Discussions have been a bit slow in this group..."

If it makes you feel any better I'm trying to get a group going but it's so dead! It's been around for over a year, and there is ..."

Thanks for the support! :)

[Jeff]

I have also been in a major reading slump. I have even started a second reading of Infinite Jest just to read something I love.

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Finally spring seems to be here . . . need to do some reading outside!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Whew - I was on vacation and it was much harder to keep up with Goodreads while I was lying on the beach! :)

Back to the Goodreads grind!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

ARGH! For some reason Goodreads still wont let me add The Recognitions as a to be read for our group Jan-March 2017! Everytime I do it it looks like it worked, but it is never there!

[Daniel]

Matthew wrote: "ARGH! For some reason Goodreads still wont let me add The Recognitions as a to be read for our group Jan-March 2017! Everytime I do it it looks like it worked, but it is never there!"

Weird. Must be that Y2K virus :)

Can you add it for this year sometime, as a test? then it's something wrong with those specific dates
Can you add a different book for that time period? then it's something wrong with that specific book

Good luck

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Daniel wrote: "Matthew wrote: "ARGH! For some reason Goodreads still wont let me add The Recognitions as a to be read for our group Jan-March 2017! Everytime I do it it looks like it worked, but it ..."

Thanks! I am gonna try something again soon and see what happens. I have given up on it for awhile, hoping that something in the algorithm clicks!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

I finally got the Recognitions to work! I had to add it as starting to day and ending tomorrow. Then I went in and edited the date. The life of a Book Club Moderator!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Back from vacation! You would think taking 2 weeks off from work I would have had more time to maintain discussions in the group, but I didn't stop by here as much I would have liked. Hopefully now that I am back I can get back into the swing of things!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Hello all! Sorry to not get the discussion threads and currently reading for December up to date until today. I was on a trip for my 40th birthday in Vegas so updating Goodreads and reading time were in limited supply!

[Scarlett]

Happy belated birthday :)

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Scarlett wrote: "Happy belated birthday :)"

Thank you! :)

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you get all of your lists completed in 2018!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

How is it that time is moving so fast - it is already almost time for another book poll!

[Gretchen]

Fairly new to this group. Question: Are we reading from a particular list? How does this group work in regard to book lists? Thanks.

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Gretchen wrote: "Fairly new to this group. Question: Are we reading from a particular list? How does this group work in regard to book lists? Thanks."

Hello Gretchen!

We have several lists that have been submitted by a variety of members. Each month I base the polls off one or more of those lists. Sometimes there is a more specific theme to the books up for vote.

Here is a link to the list discussions:

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

[NancyJ]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if you can recommend something good from one of your favorite lists. Preferably fiction or narrative non-fiction.

I'm working on two new challenges for next month - History (not WWII) and Italy. Books that combine both would be great. For history, historical fiction is fine as long as the emphasis is on history.

For Italy. I'm looking for a book that will show something about the Italian culture or history. Preferably set in Italy, but a novel about Italian immigrants might be OK too. Maybe something relatively modern or renaissance era.

Mathew - you read Godfather, right? I think it's a stretch, but I recall a section in one of the films that was set in Italy. I can't remember if it was actually in the book.

There was a great Italian miniseries about 20 years ago (1960's - 80's maybe). I can't think of the name, but maybe it was based on a book.

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

NancyJ wrote: "Hi all,

I'm wondering if you can recommend something good from one of your favorite lists. Preferably fiction or narrative non-fiction.

I'm working on two new challenges for next month - History..."

Off the top of my head I cannot remember how much of the Italy part of the movie was from the book.

Unfortunately, off the top of my head, I cannot think of other books that sound like they would fit.

I guess it depends on what sort of history you are looking for. I know the DaVinci biography has been pretty popular over the past few years.

[Carol]

NancyJ wrote: "Hi all,

I'm wondering if you can recommend something good from one of your favorite lists. Preferably fiction or narrative non-fiction.

I'm working on two new challenges for next month - History (not WWII) and Italy"

How about "The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone?

[Jessica-sim]

Because one of my long time TBRs never makes it through the voting rounds, how many times has it been up there? 6?, I started by myself today and wow... I will for the last time recommend it to you all.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Written in 1992 but set in 2052 it has a weird contemporary feel, with a society scarred by a massive pandemic and a new (?) influenza strain suddenly occurring in Oxford.

Of course, there is also an element of time travel, scientific and historical inaccuracies but the feelings of people in quarantine hit home right now particularly.

Just look at what happens on page 74, when a group of Americans travelling through England at the time object to the inconvenience of being forced into quarantine. True to form?

"I'm not used to having my civil liberties taken away like this. in America nobody would dream of telling you where you can or can't go."

And over 30 million Americans died during the Pandemic as a result of that sort of thinking, he thought. "I assure you that the quarantine is solely for your protection. "

As the quarantine starts in Oxford the first thing they worry about is ..... lavatory paper! Eerie how close to the truth fiction can come sometimes.

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Jessica wrote: "Because one of my long time TBRs never makes it through the voting rounds, how many times has it been up there? 6?, I started by myself today and wow... I will for the last time recommend it to you..."

Thanks for sharing, Jessica! Yes - it has made many appearances and I have wanted to read it as well.

I hope you enjoy - if you want to see if others are interested, we could officially put a discussion in the Buddy Read Thread. Just let me know and I can start one.

I have been thinking about starting one for Joy Luck Club as well since it was so close this month.

[Jessica-sim]

Sure! If you think there are reading buddies around for this one, it'd be happy for the company!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Jessica wrote: "Sure! If you think there are reading buddies around for this one, it'd be happy for the company!"

Just set up the discussion thread!

[Lesle]

Matthew what list are you working from? I cannot seem to locate it in the threads. Is it a list that is easy to use?

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

The link below should take you to the various lists we use - sometimes the List discussion threads get buried if they have not been discussed in awhile:

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

[Lesle]

So we use more than one list?

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Lesle wrote: "So we use more than one list?"

Yes - it started with the Time 100 list, but then other lists were suggested overtime. As long as you don't get into the lists that are too overwhelmingly huge, there tends to be a lot of overlap. Also, we found that the Time 100 is pretty limited and missed out on a few other must reads that are on other lists.

Honestly, it is almost as if each list has its own personality!

[Lesle]

Matthew wrote: "Honestly, it is almost as if each list has its own personality!..."

Well I guess I have homework!

[Matthew, Assistant List Master]

Well . . . The worst reading slump I have had since joining Goodreads continues. Almost two months since I have read a page. Just not motivated to crack open a book in a long time. Also, my audiobook reading is down to about 15 minutes a day. Can't tell if this slump is a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe it means life is better than usual so I don't feel the need to escape into the pages?

But, I am stopping in to get next months polls up!

[Tek]

Matthew wrote: "Well . . . The worst reading slump I have had since joining Goodreads continues. Almost two months since I have read a page. Just not motivated to crack open a book in a long time. Also, my audiobo..."

I've hit some slumps lately but i tend to break out of them if i try a new book im more excited about. Like i dabbled in Jurassic Park in august and flew thru it. Couldn't put it down. But im also trying to slog thru Wheel of Time and its hit and miss depending on the chapter.

[Jessica-sim]

I also had a big reading slump over the summer. I found it really quite worrying! A friend forced me to read the 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo late august, it didn’t go easily but it broke the reading slump. What really pushed me forward is me putting aside all the lofty reading goals I set myself for this year. I escaped into phantasy for a while. I’ve raced through quite a few books the last month! So my advice, don’t be too hard on yourself and remember that reading is fun too.