You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Group Themed Reads: Preparation
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Group Read Changes
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I agree with you Tasha. That's totally different from contributing only two comments on a book you read ages ago. I'm not even sure whether there are people who do that here, probably not, but you could if you wanted to.
Yeah, I certainly wasn't saying there are people who do that here, I was just commenting on the feeling I was getting about others not feeling it was right to get a badge. I have no negative feelings about any others doing it either, I just wanted to let you all know how I feel about MY doing it with this month's read. haha :D
I am okay to carry on, as Sarah is happy to hang with us. I don't think my behavior is going to change any time soon either. YLTO is my home and I look forward to seeing what is new and going on every single day!
This all seems like fun changes. I am game for anything.A shout out to the mods - You guys are great always coming up with new things
I second TASHA'S comment; you mods are great and I enjoy YLTO; I have recommended GR to friends based on my experience with this group.
Cherie wrote: "YLTO is my home and I look forward to seeing what is new and going on every single day!"Yes! Me too ;-)
I have only been a member of YLTO a few months but I am fine with the changes, especially receiving a stamp instead of a badge for a non-group book.
A few observations that have likely already been pointed out by other YLTO members:
Sometimes people do vote in the polls who rarely, if ever, participate in the discussions. I realize there isn't any method to stop them from voting but then again it isn't fair to other active members in the group. This seems to be a common occurrence in other groups besides YLTO, unfortunately.
Also, sometimes I cannot participate in the discussions for the official group reads because I cannot get a book from the library in time. Rebecca was an exception because thankfully I already owned the book. Occasionally, I am willing to buy a full priced book that I really have a deep interest in reading, but otherwise I need to stick to a budget.
Finally, I am just grateful to have found a group with amazing moderators who are so active and responsive. It makes a huge difference in the dynamics of the group and likely increases activity by members overall. I realize moderating can be time consuming, so I thank you all so much for your efforts.
A few observations that have likely already been pointed out by other YLTO members:
Sometimes people do vote in the polls who rarely, if ever, participate in the discussions. I realize there isn't any method to stop them from voting but then again it isn't fair to other active members in the group. This seems to be a common occurrence in other groups besides YLTO, unfortunately.
Also, sometimes I cannot participate in the discussions for the official group reads because I cannot get a book from the library in time. Rebecca was an exception because thankfully I already owned the book. Occasionally, I am willing to buy a full priced book that I really have a deep interest in reading, but otherwise I need to stick to a budget.
Finally, I am just grateful to have found a group with amazing moderators who are so active and responsive. It makes a huge difference in the dynamics of the group and likely increases activity by members overall. I realize moderating can be time consuming, so I thank you all so much for your efforts.
It's good to hear your views Lisa Ann. I have just been discussing libraries in one of the other threads. It's much harder to get hold of the newer books because everyone reserves them, much easier with classics and older books i guess. I'm wondering if announcing books earlier, say 25th would allow people extra time to get library books, just shorten down the voting/nominations.
Thanks, Sarah. :) Perhaps announcing the books earlier might help some YLTO members. For myself, I am not sure but that is partly due to availability issues and long wait periods through my local library system.
I think an earlier announcement could help; however I know here if it's an anticipated new release then it's likely to take months to get it in.
We even tried preparing a couple of months in advance, so instead of planning for May right now, we'd be planning for June, but it was hard to manage and it gradually gravitated back to one month in advance. We do have several "lurkers" who participate in the challenges and group reads silently. Now if only we could convince them to actively participate. We don't bite.
One of the groups I first joined in GR do the voting a couple of month in advance, but the thing is that maybe you vote now for something you think you'd like to read, but 2 months later your mood changed. It's too much time.
No, we don't bite. Actually we don't even bark. We are pretty civilized. :)
Sandra wrote: "No, we don't bite. Actually we don't even bark. We are pretty civilized. :)"Hmmm, well you might not Sandra... ;)
:D Should I be afraid of our next buddy read???
My Two Cents:I am very happy with YLTO group read book selections and discussions as they are.
It seems there is some frustration that people are reading alternate books instead of one of the chosen two but we don't know why that is - some data could help us make effective changes. So how about a poll for members who have not participated in a group read discussion in the last 3 months. The poll could ask "what are possible barriers to participating in the group read" with choices such as: couldn't get the book/ already read the book/ it seems the books that are chosen are not ones I am interested in/I need to be persuaded that the chosen books are good reads/too busy to participate/I like to read the comments but not comment myself/I don't have anything to add to the discussion/I don't understand how to use spoilers etc.:
The changes made could then be directed at the most common barriers
Perhaps those of us that are active should set up an ambassador team so help the mods - posting friendly responses to comments like "I am starting the book". I know that when I started overtures from Sarah, Cherie and Casceil made me feel much more welcome.
As for questions to guide discussion perhaps those could be modeled on the challenge discussions; those never seem onerous. Is there a way to structure the discussion thread so comments and responses are grouped? For example if Janice posts a comment to which Cherie, Travis and Sarah respond - can that be set so a reader could follow that specific discussion?
Sandra wrote: ":D Should I be afraid of our next buddy read???"Yes, be afraid! Be very afraid! Lol.
Whatever is decided, I don't care. I have enjoyed the group reads and the badges are fun....but the meat of the journey is the book itself. It's nice to read others impressions of the same book you are reading. We all come from different backgrounds, have different experiences, talents, relationships and personalities so we all read the book from beginning to end with unique perspectives. And, it's very interesting how books elicit varying reactions in each individual reader.
However, I do admit I have pushed myself to finish a book before the end of the month just so I could qualify for the badge.
And, a special thank you to the moderators for making reading just a little bit more interesting with all the different ways to participate on YLTO!!
I like the poll idea Joan. We'll be going ahead with the proposed changes but I think the poll would help us to tweek theses further down the line.As for grouping replies, there isn't any way of doing that and I'm not sure how it would help the discussion. I don't think the discussion threads are onerous now but if we just all answered the same quedtions it might. I know we all have a different take on things so it might be different. Plus its not compolsary to answer any or all of the set questions if they are used.
I don't think we need an actual team of people set up to help with questioning, i think you all do a great job at commenting on people's thoughts and with the addition of a discussion leader, i think it will be covered.
Sarah wrote: "Wow! You've all been active while I slept :-) And now I'm going to reply with a long post...."
I love the proposed changes! I usually do have I hard time knowing how to discuss a book and I don't feel the book club guides are really that great. I'm not an English major. I don't know different writing styles. I just know when I like characters, when I don't, how I feel about their choices within the book. I think this is going to be great--provided my tiny library has the books we read each month. I do love the monthly reads, I usually get so stuck in my genre rut that I don't look around. Being in this group has really expanded my selection base. :)
Heather I'm not and English major either, so the comments and comparisons by YLTO members have greatly enriched my reading.
Sarah wrote: "As for limiting nominations and voting to active group members, I'm pretty sure there isn't a way of doing it physically other than just stating it in the thread and poll."I am a new member. I haven't been round to be in discussions. I still would like to be able to vote.
Peggy wrote: "I get what you mean Tasha. I was thinking the same earlier. Questions that make you think about deeper meaning and symbolism or that just require a lot of thinking or are difficult remind me of hom..."I agree also many of these questions are so directed that they don't encourage discussion. You just state the fact they ask of.
We encourage you to vote, AND to join in on the discussion.It's discouraging when a bunch of people vote on a book and then don't join in on the discussion. It's not much fun to be alone on a discussion when 5 other people voted for the book and don't turn up for the party.
Lynn wrote: "KimeyDiann wrote: "I'm having flip-flopping feelings on the person who nominates the book leading the discussion. That could cause a person with a really good nomination to not speak up because he/..."I suffer from a chronic illness. I have frequent hospital stays. If one of my nominations wins I would be happy to lead a discussion. Would people have a problem if something happened mid way?
Cherie wrote: "In the last 4 years, only one book that I nominated for a group read has won. With those odds, I could stand to "lead a discussion". LOL!"Cherie, I have been following your comments in The Twelve. I read the book ages ago but I am really enjoying the reminders. I love the incite your comments give. I truly hope you get to lead a discussion
Renee wrote: "I suffer from a chronic illness. I have frequent hospital stays. If one of my nominations wins I would be happy to lead a discussion. Would people have a problem if something happened mid way? ..."I'm sure we can figure out a work around. Someone could take over for you while you're away. Nothing is cast in stone and we're always happy to help out.
I like comments and questions about symbolism, foreshadowing, links with other books, authors, writing style for some books, such as Carlos Ruiz. They inspire me to pay attention and help me stay engaged. Probably not so much for books about Chet the pivate-eye dog :)
Thank you, Renee. You made me laugh. We have all been pretty active and having a good time reading The Twelve in our Buddy read. Come join us, if you have read the book or are interested in starting. Everyone is welcome. I am looking forward to our next group read, no matter what gets picked.
Peggy wrote: "I agree with you Tasha. That's totally different from contributing only two comments on a book you read ages ago. I'm not even sure whether there are people who do that here, probably not, but you could." Yep, I do that when I have already read the book but I don't collect any badges. Sometimes it's just nice to say I've read it too without having to go into depths and debates about opinions, etc.
People who want badges will do whatever to get them; those who don't really want a badge will just continue to read and discuss in the way they already do. In the end reporting about books isn't why I joined any group here on Goodreads; it was to share love of books read and discover new reads.
Well, the first month of the changes has been done and dusted.It's early days but I am pleased to with how things went. A big thank you to the two discussion leaders who did a fantastic job of leading the discussions, especially in this first month when we're all finding our feet with the changes. They even went above and beyond their role, prompting people to report their reads in order to get a badge. Whilst I appreciate the sentiment, I'll be out of a job soon if everyone keeps it up - you gotta leave me something to do ;-) I'm looking forward to many more interesting group read discussions.
Sarah wrote: "As for limiting nominations and voting to active group members, I'm pretty sure there isn't a way of doing it physically other than just stating it in the thread and poll."But won't it be limiting people who read the books but prefer to just read rather than participate?Won't this make it a bit more restrictive, if it was even possible?... because theres always a possibility that someone may decide to be active for a certain book but otherwise be an observer... reading should be always encouraged,don't you think..people may read the book they voted for later ,wgen they get time and then they may look up thread for that specific book see the discussion for that particular book.. just a thought. ..
Sure encouraging people to read full stop is a good thing. But sometimes people who aren't active in the group/participate in discussion nominate books but then we never see them again. Sure they may still read the book and that's great but it doesn't benefit the discussion or the group as a whole. Group reads are about reading a book and discussing it together. I get that we all have different tastes and that some books will interest people whilst others won't. But if someone nominates a book, then that book is to their taste and if it wins, then really there is no reason why they shouldn't participate. Of course real life can get in the way and we all understand that. There have been many books I've not been able to read when they are group reads but have read later and returned to the threads to read the spoilers and discuss. I did just that on the Artemis buddy read. That is fine for people to do that. We encourage it in fact. I'm always telling people to hunt out a thread if I see them reading a book and we've read in the past as a group or buddy read. But my comment is to do with people nominating a book, it winning and them not being a part of the discussion thereafter.
I know what you mean, Sarah..and I just saw that it was an old thread after posting this..:(
I generally prefer to vote only.Exactly because of the fact that in the end I may not end up reading it for various reasons.And I like to vote for the theme more than inividual books,which until I get them I am not sure whether I will be able to read it.But seeing the discussion here is very interesting and in the case of some books YLTO it...as you said ..good place to know whether you will like to read a book or not...I am one of those people who love spoilers.I generally hate spoiler free reviews.
Well maybe hate is a strong word.Only disappointed I guess.
No worries. You are not alone. Some people do just see what others nominate and vote on what they want to read from those. Nothing wrong with with that. But don't be put off from nominating a book. If you nominate a book and you cannot read it because things get in the way, we understand. It's happened to me before as well as many others in the group. We're an understanding bunch. The person who nominates the book, leads the discussion. If we know that something has come up and that person cannot lead the discussion then someone who seconded it or is going to be reading it can lead the discussion instead. As long as we know, we can sort things out.
You are.This is a great group to be.
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You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
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The Lake House (other topics)The Lake House (other topics)
I do see how this can feel like 'cheating' and I usually don't do it, but since I just read The Girl on the Train last month and it's still really fresh in my mind, I feel it's ok to join in on the convo over in the thread. I won't do it if I've read the chosen book months ago or years ago because I know it's been way too long and my memory would not help fuel the discussion. Plus I wasn't excited about the other monthly pick. So, I do like the option of having a badge if it just so happens I've just read the book. At first I was disappointed that I had just read the book and it came up as a group read so was happy when I learned I could actually get a badge for it.