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Proposed Group Change - Informal Buddy Reads to Replace "Official" Group Reads
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Sounds good, I have never done a buddy read before so I don't know how they work either. Another alternative might be to set up a group challenge which will offer flexibility in what people can read but still keep them involved in a group effort. My concern with the buddy reads is that people have to take the initiative to organize a buddy read themselves, which might not happen. And then someone else has to be interested in that book and notice the buddy read for it to join in, which might not happen if it's not visible on the front page like group reads are. Not saying we shouldn't try it though, just that both options (buddy reads and challenge) can be done at the same.
Robin wrote: "Sounds good, I have never done a buddy read before so I don't know how they work either. Another alternative might be to set up a group challenge which will offer flexibility in what people can rea..."Thanks Robin, those are all really good points! I think the challenge sounds like a great idea (and it's something that never even crossed my mind). And you're right about the visibility of the buddy reads - I'm not sure how often people look beyond the group's home page and I could definitely see "active" buddy reads going unnoticed as they get pushed off.
I like the idea of a reading challenge as well. I usually only participate in the group reads if the book is on my TBR shelf. A challenge would allow me to get to some of those.
I've never done a buddy read but I definitely would be interested in giving it a try!
Or perhaps just very broad themes, and we pick our own book that fits it? I don't know. But I like all these ideas.
I'm interested in a Wolf Hall buddy read. Anyone else?
I propose that we retire the "official" group reads (at least for a while) since participation has been fairly low over the last few months, and I can't imagine that things will get more active during the summer months. I personally do not have time to read many of the books at the moment, so I'm unable to lead any of the group discussions. If someone wants to take over setting up the nomination threads, voting polls, discussion threads, etc., please contact me, and we could consider making you a group moderator for those purposes and could continue the group reads if that's what people would prefer to do.
In place of the "official" group reads, I suggest that we start informal buddy reads. I'm sure many groups do these many different ways, but this is what I propose. If you're planning on reading a book and would like to discuss it with members of the group, start a new thread (if you don't know how to start a new thread, let me know).
In the "topic" area, put "Buddy Read: [Title of Book]"
For a folder, select "Buddy Reads" (this folder has not been created yet, but if people are open to this general idea, I will make it).
In the "comment" section, perhaps include:
*Title of book
*Author
*Date you plan to start reading the book (or would like to start discussing the book)
*A sentence or two about the book or why you want to read it (could help get people interested in reading the book with you)
I think moving to informal buddy reads will add flexibility and hopefully increase participation in the group. People won't have to wait for any specific date to read a book, and the books don't have to be generally available since we're not trying to accommodate the entire group (so out of print books or strictly e-books would be fine). Multiple buddy reads could be going on at the same time since anyone could start a buddy read thread. I think people enjoyed nominating and voting on the group reads since it brought different books to their attention that they might not have heard of otherwise, but I think the same thing can be achieved by allowing individuals to set up their own informal buddy reads (there will hopefully be more choices to choose from).
I'd love to hear anyone's comments, questions or suggestions about this idea. I tried looking up how to set up a buddy read, but I didn't really find what I was looking for (most were just a variation of a group read like we currently have and I want to try to move away from that format), so I pretty much just came up with this on my own. Maybe it's a terrible idea and I haven't thought it all the way through, or maybe people will be interested in trying something new. Thanks in advanced for your comments!