EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion
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However, I'm as concerned as everyone else.So, I'll share with you what I have of information so far.
What everyone knows (just read previous posts in this thread , if you don't):
1. Our moderator, Kasey, has had some issue which prevented her from keeping the usual group schedule.
2. Since she is the founder and only moderator, some tasks can't be performed by other members who are not moderators (like opening polls).
3. Discussions here converged to giving her sometime and waiting for her to come back. In the meantime, we would catch up with books on the Group Bookshelf.
4. She reappeared on June 12th and posted a message (message 180). She said she'd be back soon. But that didn't happen, and I now realize that was about six weeks ago.
More information
5. On the same date she sent me a private message with some considerations and said she was "going to need some help here and I'm looking to pick new moderators." She also asked if I would be interested.
6. I answered her the same day and said I would. But I got no more messages after that date (same six weeks ago).
7. On July 16 I sent her another PM, like I said here. Still no answer.
Well, that is what I have. I hadn't yet shared the second part of it, because that was a private message from Kasey. I think it is now better to share that with you all.
I'll give it all some more thought and then I'll propose some ideas for consideration.
Good reading!
M wrote: "Could those of you who have joined similar groups tell us about your favourite ones?"Here are a few that I like. There were many more that looked promising:
Catching up with Classics (the focus is on older classics)
Diversity in all Forms
Retro Chapter chicks.
I discovered several other good groups, but I withdrew only because I was too busy with my own board, and they were clogging up my feed.
My group is The Great American Read group. I am NOT trolling for members, but it has a similar mission, Many of the books on this group's list are also on the GAR list. This group will probably slow down significantly after October, when the PBS show completes it's season, so this might be a good short term option for someone who is still waiting for this group to restart. We have two short classics starting today and a long read.
How to find a group for YOU:
* Pick a few books on your WANT TO READ list, and go to the bottom of their page (it will change on the first of the month), to see where it is being discussed.
* Identify a few people who have similar tastes, and look on their profiles to see where they post.
* Search groups using keywords such as "classic"
Marcos wrote: "However, I'm as concerned as everyone else.So, I'll share with you what I have of information so far.
What everyone knows (just read previous posts in this thread , if you don't):
1. Our modera..."
Thanks Marcos. Appreciate the information. I am not sure if there is a way to add a mod without the moderator doing it themselves.
Joanna, the only way would be if Goodreads staff would do that. I and some others mentioned this possibility in the beginning of the discussion of this matter. By that time I sent GR a message (and mentioned it here) asking for some guidance but, surprisingly, got no answer. It may have been overlooked, so I sent another one today.
Of course, I am not asking GR staff to make me a moderator. I'm only trying to find a solution path supported by GR.
I'll let you know when they answer me.
In case we have to come to any decision whatsoever, I believe it should be made collectively, after a transparent discussion.
Am I the only one who feels like the impasse was short and not enough to catch up? :(
Marcos wrote: "In case we have to come to any decision whatsoever, I believe it should be made collectively, after a transparent discussion."OK let's start that decision making process. Having a leadership vacuum leads to wasted time, confusion, and chaos. So, as an active (until recently)member of the group, I have a proposal that we identify temporary moderators of the group.
Marcos and Joanna are two of the most active members of this group (as documented by the member stats). A group of this size really does need at least two moderators.
I propose that we support Marcos and Joanna (or others that they support) and encourage them to serve as temporary moderators of this group, to maintain normal functions such as setting up the voting threads and discussion threads for the August group read. (See the suggested voting strategy above.) This does not require official moderator rights, or any intervention on the part of goodreads or the moderator.
I propose that we support you and allow you to make the interim decisions that you see fit as experienced members of this group, in order to facilitate a selection of books for August. We support taking quick action. (You could start a thread for a quick vote now and have books selected in just a few days.) If you do it together, the time demands (e.g. counting votes) would be very light. If people would prefer to wait for Kasey, they are free to not participate. But many people have already told you they support you, and they want to have a group read for August, so I'm very confident they will participate.
Does anyone else support Marcos and Joanne as temporary moderators?
LOL, Nancy! Very well. I don’t mind starting up nominations. I hadn’t fully read your previous message I don’t think, but it seems sound.
Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "LOL, Nancy! Very well. I don’t mind starting up nominations. I hadn’t fully read your previous message I don’t think, but it seems sound."I was a leadership coach in another life, so I can't help myself. I like to encourage people to step up to the challenge. One of my favorite leadership mottos is, if you see something that needs to be done, do it. Don't ask for permission, ask for forgiveness.
Thanks!
Nancy
The voting links are up!Classics: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Modern:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...-
Re-Read: continue working on your catching up.
Thank you all so much. I really want this group to continue. Yes, I support Marcos & Joanna as temporary moderators. They seem to be the perfect choice to run the group or to help Kasey if she decides to return at some time.
I am so glad to see two people willing to step up and take on the extra work of moderating this group. I am newish and I do not participate in the discussions like I probably should but I follow it closely. The hiatus was nice, but I was getting worried that the group might fall apart. WooHooo! I am excited we are back. :-)
Johanna and Marcos would be awesome. They have been supportive of how this group is run.They have not tried to turn it into a their way or no way situation
They have also not tried to poach members for their unsuccessful group.
Thanks to Joanna, Marcos, Nancy and everybody else, it's great to see the group active again!
Thanks to everyone for their efforts to be respectful yet get the group back on track.
I appreciate the effort everyone is putting to keep going but I realized it made me want to leave the group. I don't mind the pause, it's great to catch up, it gave me some breathing room to think and not go crazy. Too much change all of a sudden for me, so I'm going to take my time to rethink. I'll miss the challenges and what the group meant a year ago when I joined.
Keep reading, that's the most important part. I will, taking time for the "A year with Jane" challenge and the books GR has under "compare books"
I appreciate all of your concerns and effort in supporting the group.Personally, this will not work for me mainly because I will never be able to get the book that will win in this short time (which is 0 days since we started August already O.O). I think many others will share my issue.
However, I will continue catching-up on the previously read books, and attempting to complete my challenges here until a suitable resolve comes officially :D
Also, thank you Marcos for sharing the additional points, this is actually good news and hopefully the group will get back on track stronger than earlier :-)
Happy reading people.
Zainab wrote: "I appreciate all of your concerns and effort in supporting the group.Personally, this will not work for me mainly because I will never be able to get the book that will win in this short time (wh..."
It’s not much time, so I think it’ll be more of a Group Buddy Read since it did not really give people much chance to get the books or have a say.
We can go ahead and start up nominations as soon as this is vote is finished for September and get more on track again. Hopefully we’ll be able to do some mod-type activities soon.
Thank you to those who have stepped up. ❤️ Despite being a "lurker" I value this group deeply. Hopefully a permanent solution can be found in the coming months.
Zainab wrote: "I appreciate all of your concerns and effort in supporting the group.Personally, this will not work for me mainly because I will never be able to get the book that will win in this short time (wh..."
Can you get kindle books from amazon where you live?
I will be sorry to see you go Mariana. I actually feel in a similar situation to you and miss the friends who have left the group already and what it used to mean to me.
Happy Reading All.
Well, I haven't heard of anyone leaving the group so far, and I don't think we should assume anyone is leaving, except for those who say so, like Mariana. Moreover, I still think she'll be back. :-) Nice person and reader.Maybe some friend told another they're leaving, but that is private.
As for me, I'm certainly staying, and like I said before, I'm quite confident we can put the group back in track. :-)
Now for that initiative of choosing a read for August. At first I thought it wouldn't be the best choice, because of the lack of time. But on the other hand, it is as if someone started a buddy read, just it is wider and more organized. So, that'll work well as an option for August.
And since Joanna is running that well, I'll be focused on the rescue of the group. I've been sending more messages to individual members of GR staff and trying other channels to reach them and arrange a solution.
And I'll let everyone know here when there is any progress.
Marcos, if you need help with anything let me know. Also, as a reminder I’m doing a Frankenstein buddy read starting today if anyone wants to join us. We’re using the old threads in the Classic reads section.
Thanks Marcos! Let me know if you need help on that end also.
We still have a few hours left to vote. If any want to participate but are concerned about access, we do have one public domain book in the running is Pride and Prejudice. That means it is available to read digitally on Project Gutenberg and to listen Librovox, which should be accessible for most countries. There are some really great narration options on LibriVox due to the book’s popularity.
Oh! I feel like I should mention that Frankenstein is also in the public domain so same deal with project Gutenberg LibriVox!
Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Oh! I feel like I should mention that Frankenstein is also in the public domain so same deal with project Gutenberg LibriVox!"Oh awesome! Thank you for this.
Leesa wrote: "I will be sorry to see you go Mariana. I actually feel in a similar situation to you and miss the friends who have left the group already and what it used to mean to me.
Happy Reading All."
You've moved me beyond words. I'm sorry if I came out too blunt, my emotions are all over the place and I'm oversensitive (trying to assess how much so as not to step on any toes). Joanna contacted me yesterday and her concern for the group and individuals kept me thinking about the human value of the group.
I didn't leave, I'm just weighing ideas. I want to finish the bookshelves and the challenges if I have enough time to do it. I love the human group behind all of this and you've kept me company during this rollercoaster year. Thank you.
Mariana wrote: "Leesa wrote: "I will be sorry to see you go Mariana. I actually feel in a similar situation to you and miss the friends who have left the group already and what it used to mean to me.
Happy Rea..."
Mariana, I’m happy to see you are still in the group. I’m relatively new here & I think it’s a good group because people are friendly & supportive. Like you, I considered leaving when nothing much happened for a while. But with the current changes I think the group will continue & possibly become even stronger. Do stay for now if you can. We all like books or we wouldn’t be here at all - but the people are more important.
Mariana nicely expressed that change can be very uncomfortable. That's exactly how other people felt during the past two months, with all the uncertainty and confusion. Most people like predictability, so maintaining normal activities is the best way to mitigate the pain caused by a lack of leadership. Joanna's second chance idea is great way to return the group to its normal activities. Starting the nomination process soon for September will bring it even closer to normal. Many of the people who left will return, once they see that things are returning to normal. The easiest way to kill off a group is stop having group discussions.
BTW, We should be sensitive to the fact that many of our members are teachers or students, and summer is the best time for them to read. For some it is the only time they can read for pleasure. Everyone needs a break from time to time, and we don't all want it at the same time.
Trisha wrote: "Mariana wrote: "Leesa wrote: "I will be sorry to see you go Mariana. I actually feel in a similar situation to you and miss the friends who have left the group already and what it used to mean to..."
Well said Trisha!
Mariana, I really appreciated your response, FYI, and intend to respond. Do what is right for you!To add to the conversation, I am totally addicted to GR, and there have been points where “keeping up” with challenges and conversations has been stressful for me, so I certainly respect any decisions to step away for awhile.
Feedback is greatly appreciated right now! There are some things that we cannot control, such as the relationships and conversations that occur organically, but how the group is run and what happens while we get things figured out is something that we can control.
Thanks all!
Joanna and Marcos - Thank you for stepping up to get the operations of this group back on track.I haven't been a member very long - but I joined within days of joining GR. And over the course of just a few months here I've read some true gems that I might not have otherwise picked up.
I was nervous to post any opinions at first, but as others have noted, everyone here as been friendly. Sadly, I'm sure we've all encountered the unfriendly side of social media from time to time. : )
I'm supportive of Marcos and Joanna being added as new co-mods on either a permanent basis or temporary, whatever they prefer! I hope the Goodreads staff can help with going ahead and adding them on! Kasey can decide if she is able to stay on, and 2 mods seems like a minimum number for a group this size.At this point, the classic and modern buddy reads for August seem like a good idea.... I was able to finish the Night Circus and should finish Astrophysics (& maybe a couple other things :) in the next couple weeks, since I have a bit of a break. I'm still supportive of the group and hope maybe we can get back on track in the next week or two for September!
Since classics may be easier for more people to obtain quickly, maybe we can at least do classic noms for Sept if new mods can be added soon, then both modern and classic for October-?? I'm always catching up as well as reading other things too, but I miss the zing of the nominations, polls and discussion. (Even though I'm not always the most active discussant, I read them more than you may think & always find it thought-provoking! I often feel I have nothing to add to this group's brilliant thoughts, no kidding!)
My thoughts are all jumbled right now and I know I have been outspoken on one particular side previously. I definitely support the group as I feel its core value is important to the GR community. I know I haven't been super active in the discussions as of late. I want to be active in the group again and also hope my voice won't be silenced again. I do apologize to those who I offended and hope that I can contribute in nominations and future discussions. I do want to continue to advocate for the core value of the group which is to familiarize ourselves with the books that are most common in literary history and conversation. I am excited for the September polls and look forward to associations and friendships to begin and continue here again as they once were.
Just thought I would apologize and toss my support into the group as it will be.
I did open September nominations, a day earlier than I planned because I apparently don’t know what day it is! Sorry for any confusion caused!
First of all, I want to say I appreciate the vote of confidence and welcome that has been shown me. If the past couple of days are anything to judge by, being the sole or primary mod for this group would be too time-consuming for me. I am co-mod in my favorite genre book club, which is pretty recent development because it too was had a mod that needed to step away from GR for the time being. Outside of GR, I work full-time in a job that can be very demanding and have a family that I do like to spend time with (haha).That being said, I really Love book-related discussions. GR is my happy place. I have been only a moderate participant in this group because it was filling up my notifications so I had turned them off and have missed some discussions that I was interested in. I am happy to serve in interim and perhaps beyond in a specific-duties role, because it is worth it to me.
I appreciate all the good will being expressed in recent posts! It can be very difficult to express what you think and feel in written word, so I hope we can move forward beyond some of the recent more difficult discussions that have occurred. One of the things that I like best about this group is the diversity found in it! Love hearing all the different perspectives expressed! 😍
I'm not a regular poster, although I do my best to read the books I am able to borrow from the local library.I really enjoy being a part of this group as the number of books and pace is much more reasonable and enjoyable than a number of other groups I have tried to join on here. Having this break has been really enjoyable to allow me to catch up on books I've not been able to read during the correct month.
Thank you Marcos and Joanna for stepping up to keep the group moving forward!
Just wanted to mention our group was featured in this article! Woo! https://bookriot.com/2018/08/02/best-...
Thank you Joanna and Marcos for keeping the group going!
@Jessica — how cool. Thanks for sharing!
Good news!One member of GR staff, Emily, Community Manager, has read one of the messages I sent.
She said they've checked the Support mailbox and have now received my earlier e-mail messages.
So, they're now aware of the situation and will be looking at this soon. I'll let you know of any developments.
If anyone is interested, this contact was made here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Well, now that we have a real expectation of help from GR staff to reach a solution for our moderator issue (see the previous message 300), there are some points to be discussed.GR might think it fit to make a member a provisional moderator, that's is probable, I think. That one would then be able to set the polls for the upcoming BOTM choices, which is in real need of being done.
However, there are some points we should discuss carefully before we move on. I believe in reaching solutions by discussing when we are a community.
I am preparing a proposition for that and will post it here soon.
Thanks Marcos. I look forward to your thoughts.
The results are in for the August reads:Modern classic/popular -- The Alchemist
Classics -- In Cold Blood
I have posted discussion threads in the Currently Reading folder. Thanks all!
Jessica wrote: "Just wanted to mention our group was featured in this article! Woo! https://bookriot.com/2018/08/02/best-..."One of the groups they name has over 18,000 members and one moderator - her moniker is super mod.
I was a member of a group on GR with one mod who created the group. She shut down the group when she got busy instead of asking one of the active members to be a co-mod. That's a power that the creator of the group has. It was disappointing but the active members had no say. I hope that doesn't happen here but it is a possibility.
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EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up...
Books mentioned in this topic
In Cold Blood (other topics)The Alchemist (other topics)
Frankenstein (other topics)
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (other topics)
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)
Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)
Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
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Kasey didn't see fit to give anyone moderator rights, but there are 8000 members of this group. OK maybe only 50 care, but still, there are a lot of people who want to do something other than wait.
Someone needs to take the initiative and lead.