Recast Your Vote if you Voted for Plays

[Anita]

The voting for next month's tag seems to have come to a halt.

None of our choices this month have received the requisite number of votes, so if you voted for "plays", you may recast your vote for one of the other two options. I will give you through the end of the weekend.

You may change the number of participation points you allocated if you wish.

Here's the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FXXNFYW

[Jen]

Well that's too bad. I don't particularly want to read dark fantasy but I'm kind of sick of the year tags.

Sorry Anita 😬

[Nicole R]

NNOOOO! The only time in my life I wanted to read a play!

Jen, I am with you in getting kind of sick of the year/broad tags, but I could do dark fantasy.

[Susie]

I kinda like the year tags as I get to revisit a year and pick up something I missed. I am new(ish) to the group though. Maybe they'll bug me after a while?

[Nicole R]

Susie wrote: "I kinda like the year tags as I get to revisit a year and pick up something I missed. I am new(ish) to the group though. Maybe they'll bug me after a while?"

Susie, you are obviously not alone given that so many members vote for the year/general tags!

My complaint with them is that they do not push me to read something new and different like the more specific tags.

Yes, I can pick whatever I want from a year tag and could choose to read a play published in 2004 or dark fantasy from that year, but it is limiting in a different way in that it doesn't allow me to read iconic or subjective "best" works in a genre.

For example, it won't allow me to read "The Tempest" as I have been wanting to. And as someone who only reads a couple of books a month, my reading is very much dictated by PBT (which I LOVE, so no complaints there!)

[Ladyslott]

I was really hoping for plays.

[Nicole R]

Although, as I do some more research on 2004, I found a book that stretches me a bit and looks very good! Though not a play or dark fantasy.

[Nicole R]

Ladyslott wrote: "I was really hoping for plays."

If we could vote that would have been 20 more points for plays! lol

[Jen]

Nicole R wrote: "Susie wrote: "I kinda like the year tags as I get to revisit a year and pick up something I missed. I am new(ish) to the group though. Maybe they'll bug me after a while?"

Susie, you are obviously..."

Yes! I completely agree. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, for me the fun part about PBT reading is to discover books outside my usual reading. The year tags are fine but they don't push me to discover anything new. Same with broad tags. Take bestsellers.. I didn't want this tag bc too broad. Basically this month I'm reading whatever I want then after I'm done I look at whether they are bestsellers. So far I've read at least 5 bestsellers without any thought or advance planning. In contrast last month I had to do a little research and planning. I feel lazier and less inspired this month whereas last month I felt satisfied when I read a book meeting the tag.

2004 is fine. If it wins I won't complain (any more), I'll just read whatever fits. Plays would have been fun and challenging for me bc I rarely read them. Dark fantasy isn't too much of a stretch for me but still requires some stretching of my comfort level.

[Denizen]

Susie wrote: "I kinda like the year tags as I get to revisit a year and pick up something I missed. I am new(ish) to the group though. Maybe they'll bug me after a while?"

I'm newish, too, but do enjoy the year tags. For me, they provide the widest range of subjects in the reviews and add precipitously to the TBR. What more can you ask;-)

[Amy]

Oh I now see the answers I thought are all right here! It was a double thread. Checking my list now.

[Jgrace]

voted - again. I think I'll read a protest play.

[Amy]

That was easy. Absolutely nothing in two thousand and four really appeals to me. And I think I started to get excited about my lack of excitement for dark fantasy. Now… How many votes do I throw its way? Answer me this. How dark does it have to be? Like can I use queen of the Tearling? Rose of fire? Vixen? Epiphany the Golding? If you guys tell me even one of these fits, then maybe I'll throw 3 Votes Its Way. Or alternately, if you can convince me that there is something in 2004 that I might want to read I can be easily persuaded.

[Sushicat]

I'm in the same boat as Jen in my disappointment with broad tags. I'll just read whatever and something will fit for sure. For narrow tags I find the recommendations more interesting and paradoxically I make more discoveries. I like to see how other address the challenge of a narrow tag and how we differ in interpretation. As for the broader range of books, there is always the thread for the other books...

[Booknblues]

I didn't vote because I hadn't decided but I thought that plays were going to be the choice.

[Rachel N.]

Booknblues wrote: "I didn't vote because I hadn't decided but I thought that plays were going to be the choice."

I thought it was going to be plays too though I didn't vote for it. Rooting for dark fantasy because like many other PBT members I'm tired of the overly broad year tags.

[Anita]

I'm cracking up over all the vocal support for plays because the voting didn't reflect it at all . . .

For those who like the narrower tags, all I'm going to say is those who favor the broader ones generally come out guns ablazing with 10 participation points cast . . .month after month, it's the participation points that are driving the decisions not the number of people by and large.

And while a lot of people state to me that they don't like the year tags, the results indicate otherwise . . .

[Jen]

Anita wrote: "I'm cracking up over all the vocal support for plays because the voting didn't reflect it at all . . .

For those who like the narrower tags, all I'm going to say is those who favor the broader one..."

Yeah, I wanted plays but only threw it 1 vote.

[Karin]

Please note that there are probably plays tagged 2004!!!! I am not keen on dark novels or fantasy, so if that wins it's going to be very difficult to find something to read, but I do realize that 2004 is very broad.

[Booknblues]

Anita wrote: "I'm cracking up over all the vocal support for plays because the voting didn't reflect it at all . . .

For those who like the narrower tags, all I'm going to say is those who favor the broader one..."

With year tags, one can usually find something that will fit quite easily and there were a few year tags that I had so many books left over.

I also, don't like to read a book in the year tag unless it truly fits, being published that year. 2004 is a bit more problematic for me than other years. I wasn't overly fond of plays because we did that a few years back, but figured I could read a Shakespeare that I had missed way back in high school.

I rarely do fantasy let alone dark, but there are several that are on my TBR, so as it is, it was my default and will stretch my reading because I suspect those books would have stayed on my TBR ad infenitum

[Amy]

I don't mind the Year tags in general... it's just that all of us being prolific readers, I happened to have covered that year pretty well. For other years I've had a wealth to choose from. This is narrow and unappetizing. I loved 2013. Knocked off some greats. Am going to throw three votes to dark, just to stretch myself. But okay if 2004 wins...

[Joi]

Dang, I voted for plays too! I only put my one free point on it though, so can't complain.

I voted for dark fantasy this time around- that would push myself more. The only tag I didn't read last year was fantasy- so this could be my redemption tag, lol.

[Book Concierge]

Well, I voted for plays initially ... but ... as is usual for me ... I only put in one vote. I rarely add additional points (which is probably why I have so many participation points!)

Interesting that the multiple points are what are making the decisions, not the number of people who vote..... Hmmmm

[Ladyslott]

Actually 2004 would be more of a stretch for me - because I went through the books tagged as such and after the first ten pages I have read about 80% of the books. But if I could vote I would be pulling for Dark Fantasy.

[Denizen]

Amy wrote: "That was easy. Absolutely nothing in two thousand and four really appeals to me. And I think I started to get excited about my lack of excitement for dark fantasy. Now… How many votes do I throw it..."

Almost all fantasy is dark on some level - someone evil with powers or that sort of thing. With that standard, The Queen of the Tearling fits but, if you want something truly dark, it's not your book. I have it tagged fantasy and read which isn't very helpful. It has a romance/YA flavor to it as the queen spends a little too much time thinking about the handsome rogue who can't possibly like her because she's plump. After that effusive praise I have to say, I listened to it and found it a fast, entertaining read.

[Sushicat]

Book Concierge wrote: "Well, I voted for plays initially ... but ... as is usual for me ... I only put in one vote. I rarely add additional points (which is probably why I have so many participation points!)

Interesting..."

That's what I do as well - unless there's a tag I absolutely (don't) want to read for. Hmmm indeed... will have to change my voting strategy...

I've been growing curious lately about how many votes and voters we actually have and how clear the results turn out to be.

[Susie]

Jgrace - protest play. Lol!

[LibraryCin]

I hate the year tags! I've never made a secret of that. I prefer the narrower tags.

That being said, plays is a bit too narrow for my liking. I did end up finding one that I would have read if it had been plays. I do like the narrower tags, but I still like having a little bit of choice within those narrow tags, so I'm rooting for dark fantasy!

[Marina]

I really wanted for next month's tag to be plays, since I love them, but I had a feeling it could never make it!

As for year tags, I'm not into them, but I might consider voting for them when no other choice appeals to me. This time I voted for dark fantasy.

[Tracy]

Well, darn! I have an audiobook of Neil Simon plays I was going to listen to, with lots of his Broadway friends reading. Maybe I'll listen to a few, anyway. In the meantime, I guess I'll go for dark fantasy.

[Charlie]

For those that wanted the tag to be Plays, you could always vote for 2004 and pick a play that was either published then or was on Broadway then. That's what I love about PBT, it allows you to be creative in how you pick what to read within the Tag.

[annapi]

Hmmm.... I wonder how difficult it would be to do double tags? By that I mean we would have to choose books that can fit 2 chosen tags. Something to spice things up in the future?

[Nicole]

When will the winning tag be announced, tomorrow or Monday? Waiting for the tag is always so suspenseful!

[Anita]

Nicole wrote: "When will the winning tag be announced, tomorrow or Monday? Waiting for the tag is always so suspenseful!"

Very shortly today! Voting closes at noon.

[Anita]

annapi wrote: "Hmmm.... I wonder how difficult it would be to do double tags? By that I mean we would have to choose books that can fit 2 chosen tags. Something to spice things up in the future?"

Maybe for a game . . .it's about time for one of those!