FABClub (Female Authors Book Club) discussion
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GROUP READ FORMAT Discussion - Members please weigh in!
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I myself am most interested in reading fiction, especially fiction that's come out within the past ten or twenty years.
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I think I would most prefer two new books each month. If they are chosen with at least a month (or even two) of lead time, that gives the slower readers time to plan ahead. Having one month of official reading and discussion time just seems more logical and easier to keep track of, and otherwise sometimes everything just gets left to the last minute. If we do end up doing two books a month, it would be nice if they had something different about them, perhaps fiction/non-fiction one month and classic/contemporary the next month, etc. Or we could pick one author to do as a marathon, and then make sure the alternative selection each month has some significant differences.
I do really like the idea of picking one significant author (by a poll) and then reading all of her work for however long that takes.
I am also intrigued by the idea of having a slightly more moderated discussion. I have seen other groups do it, sometimes rather heavy-handedly though. I think I would prefer a more gentle moderation, perhaps something along the lines of two or three questions thrown out for each third of the book, for the first three weeks, and then a general discussion of the whole book for the last week? I wouldn't want all of this to result in tons more work for Stephanie, so perhaps we could take turns moderating, perhaps whoever nominates the book could be the moderator or some other way of taking turns?
These are all just some thoughts I had, I'm not sure if I've thought through all the implications though! Thanks for the invitation to spout off, Stephanie!
Hopefully this is not a non-answer answer. But I would not mind doing just 2 books a month. However, I would not mind keeping 3, especially if we added more time to complete reading some of the books. I have been able to keep up (though July is iffy) but have not had time to discuss any of them. I equally enjoy fiction and non-fiction, classics and contemporary.
I love the idea of a one author marathon. Sounds fun!
I also like the idea of having talking points for the book discussions. It is sometimes hard for me to contribute to the discussions (mental block, shyness... or something). Talking points may help.
Thank you two for doing all of this work! I am enjoying this group!
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I thought I should add to my answer above that while I'm happy to share my preferences, they shouldn't be given too much weight, as I have health and life issues that sometimes keep me from participating as much as I would like.
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Thanks, Alexa. I enjoy the discussions when I can join in.
I like both Erin and Alexa's comments. I also mainly read fiction but also enjoy nonfiction. I think two books a month would be good--I agree with Alexa that there should be some difference between the two reads (fiction/nonfiction for example). I also think it's important to have the books picked enough ahead of time to acquire them like she said as well. I think doing author marathons could be fun or quite daunting depending on the author and how many books she has!
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The purpose of this thread is to talk about the format of the group going forward into next year (trust me, it will happen before you know it). There have been some changes to the format of the group reads; we currently have 1 "main" selection that is up for 2 months, a "monthly memoir" selection, and 2014's ongoing project is to read a series of classics and Imagining Characters: Six Conversations About Women Writers: Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Willa Cather, Iris Murdoch, and Toni Morrison which discusses them all in depth. So we have one classic feature each month but technically all year to read the books and chat about them.
SOOOOOO what do you, as the lovely members of FABClub, want to see next year? 1 monthly main selection? 2? A mix of fiction and non-fiction? A series of classics? More memoirs? Less memoirs? A project where we read all of one author's works over the course of the year (hello Margaret Atwood marathon)? Please share your ideas below!!
Thank you all! xoxoxox