May Pick: More Democracy? SORT OF!

[John (Nevets)]

I very much liked the Mars trilogy, some of his other work can be a bit dense, but so can Stephenson, and I tend to like both. One of his lighter books is Antarctica. It's more near future, and more of an adventure story, with some of his environmental fealings mixed in. But it is stand alone, and less heavy handed then some of his other books.

[Brendan]

I liked 2312 best, actually. But I enjoyed Aurora as well.

[Trike]

Tamahome wrote: "I have the ebook for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. It is a cozy space opera. I should finish it."

I really liked it. My review.

[Geoff]

I can appreciate some of the ideas in 2312, but the story just wasn't doing anything for me.

[Misti]

I'm so glad this poll includes links to the books. When I first saw New Moon, my mind instantly went to the Twilight books and I was like, "Why Tom, why??"

[Isdihara]

Why are we not considering the novel "Shaman?" (I liked "Aurora" very much and have not read 2312, just for disclosure.)

[Sam]

I guess we wanted to be extra spacey. :-)

[Tom, Supreme Laser]

Isdihara wrote: "Why are we not considering the novel "Shaman?" (I liked "Aurora" very much and have not read 2312, just for disclosure.)"

There are way more books not in this poll than are. So I'm not sure how o answer that. I picked these four because they looked good to me. It's not a judgement on the literally thousands of books that I didn't pick.

[Sam]

A poll with fewer than the total number of book ever? Scandal. ;-)

[Tina]

Thanks for the poll this month, it's fun.

Maybe a little bit OT -- but is there any chance in the future we could find out the next month's book choice sooner so we can have time to get the book before the read starts ? (3 weeks maybe?)

It takes awhile to get the books sometimes - it often takes me so long to get books from the library that I can't start the pick of the month until the following month (I'm still waiting for ATBITS ha-ha).

I know I can read the book any time, it would just be nice to be able to follow the discussions IRT :)

[AndrewP]

I think that's an inevitable result of picking new books. They are often very much in demand so the library has a hold list.

[Joanna Chaplin]

AndrewP wrote: "I think that's an inevitable result of picking new books. They are often very much in demand so the library has a hold list."

I still don't have a copy of ADSOM, and since I'm trying to spend less on entertainment and I was able to to discuss TFS this month, I've decided to put it off until I can borrow it. *checks Overdrive* Still 7th in line.

[Meaghan]

Joanna wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "I think that's an inevitable result of picking new books. They are often very much in demand so the library has a hold list."

I still don't have a copy of ADSOM, and since I'm tryi..."

Does your library offer Hoopla services? I'm listening to ADSOM through them. It's a free app on your phone (or website on your laptop) but the catch is, your library has to be affiliated with them for your library card to get you access. Might be worth looking into?

[Joanna Chaplin]

Meaghan wrote: "Joanna wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "I think that's an inevitable result of picking new books. They are often very much in demand so the library has a hold list."

I still don't have a copy of ADSOM, and..."

I don't know if it will be a shorter wait on Hoopla than Overdrive, but I can at least check it out, thanks.

[Meaghan]

Joanna wrote: "Meaghan wrote: "Joanna wrote: "AndrewP wrote: "I think that's an inevitable result of picking new books. They are often very much in demand so the library has a hold list."

I still don't have a co..."

No wait on Hoopla. It's either an ebook or an audiobook and it's an instant dl that disappears after a couple weeks.

[Joanna Chaplin]

Meaghan wrote: "No wait on Hoopla. It's either an ebook or an audiobook and it's an instant dl that disappears after a couple weeks. "

Dude. There's tv shows in here for borrowing, too. Not a huge selection, but they have Farscape, which I've been meaning to watch. Thanks, Meaghan, this is an amazing find!

[Meaghan]

Joanna wrote: "Meaghan wrote: "No wait on Hoopla. It's either an ebook or an audiobook and it's an instant dl that disappears after a couple weeks. "

Dude. There's tv shows in here for borrowing, too. Not a huge..."

You're welcome :)

[Tina]

I hadn't heard about Hoopla but will check it out. Does it have the same content as Overdrive?

[Tina]

I guess my point about the wait times was that I would like for us to have more time to get the book pick -- not only for checking books out of the library, but even if ordering a DTB online or finding in a used book store, or whatever means, it still takes time to acquire the book.

[Rob, Roberator]

There are some downsides about announcing a book too early IMHO.

I for one think people should read on their own time, but we always have a few members who read the book immediately.

If that's nearly a month before the book is actually the pick, then where do those people post? Do they start threads 2 or 3 weeks ahead of the group?

Not to mention, there is often a thread from at least one person whose giving up on the book before the month begins. I find that discouraging to people who haven't even finished this month's pick, or were debating if they are going to read the next month.

So personally, I think 1-2 weeks lead time is sufficient, and Tom and Veronica have been really good about that lately. It's going to be hard to ever strike the right balance for everyone in a group this large though.

[Rick]

"there is often a thread from at least one person whose giving up on the book before the month begins. I find that discouraging to people who haven't even finished this month's pick, or were debating if they are going to read the next month."

IF they don't give reasons, yes, but otherwise this is tantamount to saying we only want positive feedback. If someone picks a book up, gives it a fair chance (say, 100 pages) and dislikes it enough to not finish.... isn't it just as valid to post that as to post "OMG I read this n one gulp and LOVED IT" ?

As long as people give reasons and details about their opinions it seems to me a negative opinion is just as valid as a positive one. If another reader is that easily put off that's their issue. This is, after all, a discussion forum - people who are uncomfortable with differing opinions are probably in the wrong place in that sense.

[Meaghan]

Tina wrote: "I hadn't heard about Hoopla but will check it out. Does it have the same content as Overdrive?"

It's got some of the same content. I find Hoopla is really hit and miss with things. Overdrive has a lot more but if you can get it on Hoopla there's no wait time... which is the upside. So I usually check Hoopla first before I get on a waitlist at the library or on Overdrive.

[Rob, Roberator]

I don't care if someone doesn't like the book and gives a well thought out reason..but we constantly get "I'm lemming the book threads" way before the group read has started. And they rarely have any real reason why. That's all I was talking about.

[Stephen]

I agree with you Rob. Starting a lemming tread before 10 days is up in the month is just bad manners. And that should be a new hard rule.

[Warren]

Rick wrote: ""there is often a thread from at least one person whose giving up on the book before the month begins. I find that discouraging to people who haven't even finished this month's pick, or were debati..."
Ignore them. If all you want to do is read your favorite author then you shouldn't join a book club in the first place.
I at least give the book a shot.

[Caitlin]

If they're going to talk about lemming a book, I'd at least rather it be in a new thread than the announcement thread. I read those to get excited about a book, and I prefer to read the lem threads after I finish the book so I'm not influenced by their opinions.
Actually, I've noticed the announcement threads used to be much less spoilery in general. Now it seems people use them to discuss the book, possibly because the announcement is up a few days before a discussion thread is posted at the beginning of the month?

[Rob, Roberator]

I can make it a point to add (No Spoilers) to the title..but they are already pretty long.

I'm not really sure why so many people have started discussing the book in detail in those threads. It's meant for pre-month buzz and to make sure people are aware of the pick.

I don't recall things ever getting too spoilery though, or I'd yell at people :)

[Caitlin]

Perhaps spoilers is too strong a word, it's definitely vague but sometimes includes discussion of why it's liked or disliked, some comments on how characters behave, etc. I've just compensated by only reading them for the first couple days and then leaving them until I'm done the book. No need to do anything differently on my account!

[Tina]

Rob wrote: "There are some downsides about announcing a book too early IMHO.

I for one think people should read on their own time, but we always have a few members who read the book immediately.

If that's ..."

It's too bad some people try to ruin it for others by posting early about reading or lemming a book. But it's honestly pretty discouraging for me to not be able to join in the discussions at all because I haven't been able to get the book till after the month is over and the rest of the group has moved on. Not all of us are fast readers who can grab a 500 page book and start it mid-month and be finished before the month is over. A week is really not enough time to get a book, and some of us can't afford to buy them every month. I guess I just wish it was not so difficult to participate.

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

It's not difficult to participate later. Just don't read the threads until you've read. People will invariably jump in even if it's not the current book thread. I've done this on multiple occasions (longtime S&L person) and always find someone to discuss with. So don't worry if you don't get the books right away! All will be well.

[Tina]

I checked out Hoopla and unfortunately my library doesn't offer audiobooks through the service, only videos. But it's good to know about it - maybe they'll add audiobooks in the future.

[AndrewP]

Meaghan wrote: "Does your library offer Hoopla services? I'm listening to ADSOM through them. It's a free app on your phone (or website on your laptop) but the catch is, your library has to be affiliated with them for your library card to get you access. Might be worth looking into? ."

My library has Overdrive, Freegal, Zinio, Hoopla and Lynda.com so I can usually get the book of the month in one form or another. I was just talking about people who do not live in urban areas with large library systems.

[AndrewP]

Next month I think the physical meetup groups should form a caucus to select the books that goes to the poll :)

[Joanna Chaplin]

AndrewP wrote: "My library has Overdrive, Freegal, Zinio, Hoopla and Lynda.com..."

Whabah? So...many...apps.

[Warren]

I'm waiting to see if
Boaty McBoatface is next months choice.

[John (Taloni)]

AndrewP wrote: "Next month I think the physical meetup groups should form a caucus to select the books that goes to the poll :)"

Only a full primary would have legitimacy! :)

[Meaghan]

Warren wrote: "I'm waiting to see if
Boaty McBoatface is next months choice."

It'll probably have the most votes but it'll be dismissed anyway.

[John (Nevets)]

Given Tom's a known anglophile, I would not put it past him to add the boat option.

[Tamahome]

Only the superdelegates can pick the next book.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

and the winner is Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

Aurora 87 votes 35.2%
Planetfall 64 votes 25.9%
New Moon 59 votes 23.9%
The Red: First Light 33 votes 13.4%

Toal: 247 Votes

[John (Nevets)]

Interesting.

We will know in a few days, but it is possible we will have Hugo nominated work for the current voting cycle 2 months in a row.

If I remember correctly they usually don't release the voter packets for a few more weeks, otherwise it might be another way to read the book, if it is nominated.

[Stephen]

I see that there is about a 10 percent voting participation amongst all members, just like a real election!

[AndrewP]

Stephen wrote: "I see that there is about a 10 percent voting participation amongst all members, just like a real election!"

Now now Stephen, stop using core math ... :)
275 of 22,515 is only 1%

[Stephen]

I know but 1 % was too low. Even for low fat milk

[Tamahome]

The delegates will just pick the elite favorite anyway.

[E.J. Xavier]

Tamahome wrote: "The delegates will just pick the elite favorite anyway."

We should have a Contested Convention where we pick a book that wasn't in the original poll.

Something by this guy maybe

[Rob]

Cybernetics of the SacredThis one is a Laser pick.

[John (Nevets)]

It's sacrelidge I know, but I was born, raised, and have lived almost 40 years in Wisconsin, and I drink skim. But low fat cheese is awful. ;-)