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Werner
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Mar 04, 2018 11:55AM
In one of my other Goodreads groups, they do something that might be a good idea for this group as well: they use the term "buddy reads" for what are in effect informal mini common reads, member-initiated, and open to anyone in the group who wants to take part. These usually have more than just two participants; they aren't featured at the top of the group page and there are no whole-group notifications or changes of shelf status for the book involved, but the discussions are carried on using a dedicated thread on the discussion board for each one, rather than by personal message. So, I've created this thread for any proposals along this line that any members of this group might wish to suggest, from time to time!
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Werner wrote: "In one of my other Goodreads groups, they do something that might be a good idea for this group as well: they use the term "buddy reads" for what are in effect informal mini common reads, member-in..."This would be a great idea has anyone signed up?
So far, Frenchpolkadot, the only response to my first post has been yours. So no, nobody else has expressed an interest yet.I intend to take part in our group's annual common read in November, and have annual reads coming up in several other groups in the second half of the year. Otherwise, what with some review copies I'm expecting in the mail and other reading I have in hand, I don't expect to be free for any other shared reads this year. But if you post a suggestion, some others in the group might be.
Hey this post took place on my birthday. But don't ask me how old I am because I'm only 29.
Laura-Lee, it's great to have you back online! (And happy birthday, belatedly. :-) )
Werner wrote: "Laura-Lee, it's great to have you back online! (And happy birthday, belatedly. :-) )"If the rest of the Goodreads members don't know it yet let me tell you Werner is a sweetie pie. Sincerely Laura Lee
Laura Lee, you're the one who's sweet! Thanks for the kind words.
Yes, it is --I must have failed to click post after typing my comment! (Sorry about that!) What I intended to post was to this effect: The Christy-Award-winning novel
Passing by Samaria, by Sharon Ewell Foster, was the runner-up in the poll that picked our current group read (and was my first choice; it was edged out by the Austin book only when I switched my vote to the latter to prevent a tie). Would anyone be interested in buddy-reading it with me during the month of December?
What do you think of any of these?
by Tracie Petersonor,
, by Andrea Boeshaar?or,
, by Laura FrantzShelter--In Tracie Peterson’s A Shelter of Hope, Simone Dumas’s childhood has been fraught with terror, murder, and emotional and physical abuse. In an ultimate act of betrayal, her father sells her, along with his property, .....but Simone goes west, and finds a job as a Harvey girl.
Thousand --A story of love, hope, and healing set in the midst of the Civil War Nineteen-year-old Carrie Ann Bell is independent and spirited. The only thing she really fears are the Union soldiers fighting against her Confederate friends. When her youngest sister runs away from home, brave Carrie Ann is determined to find her and bring her back. Disguised as a soldier, she sets off--only to find she's fallen into the hands of the enemy.
Colonel's -- In 1779, when genteel Virginia spinster Roxanna Rowan arrives at the Kentucky fort commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn, she finds that her officer father has died. Penniless and destitute, Roxanna is forced to take her father's place as scrivener. Before long, it's clear that the colonel himself is attracted to her. But she soon realizes the colonel has grave secrets of his own—some of which have to do with her father's sudden death. Can she ever truly love him?
I can highly recommend that series. It’s historically accurate but also tells wonderful tales!
Nancy wrote: "What do you think of any of these?"Well, although I do get into historical fiction, all three of these authors are basically just names to me, and none of the books leaps out as a must-read. !With 414 books currently on my to-read shelf, I try to avoid getting into group or buddy reads of books not on that list, if I can --and with 355 on yours, I can understand if you do likewise!) But others in the group may be interested in buddy reading one of these three with you! (How about it, folks?)
Sarah wrote: "I can highly recommend that series. It’s historically accurate but also tells wonderful tales!"Sarah, which series are you referring to?
I'll float another trial balloon. :-) MaryLou Tyndall is an evangelical Christian author of historical romances. I haven't read any of her work myself; but her
The Red Siren (Barbour Books, 2009) is a novel the BU library has, and one that's been on my to-read shelf for several years. It's the opener for the author's Charles Towne Belles trilogy (a fourth novel was added to the series some years later).Quoting from the Goodreads description (of another edition, but the same book); "Can ladies be pirates? In 1718 Charleston, there are few other choices left to women in need of large sums of money. And Faith Westcott needs such a fortune to protect her two sisters from forced marriages or their aloof and often-absent admiral father will do just that upon his return from overseas. The only problem is, he has assigned a naval officer to keep guard over Faith and her sisters while he is away—a very handsome naval officer, and one whom Faith recognizes as a victim of her piracy from long ago." Nancy (or anyone else in the group who's interested in a possible buddy read), what do you think? :-)
I've been wanting to read something by George MacDonald for a while now. I'm thinking The Fisherman's Lady looks good. there seems to be two entry's for this on GR. this is the other one The Fisherman's Lady / The Marquis' SecretEdited to add; turns out this was originally published as Malcolm. and is available from Project Gutenberg under that title.
Don't know if this would appeal to anyone else. just thought I'd throw it in anyway.
Sarah wrote: "I can highly recommend that series. It’s historically accurate but also tells wonderful tales!"Which series, which author?
Werner wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I can highly recommend that series. It’s historically accurate but also tells wonderful tales!"Sarah, which series are you referring to?
I'll float another trial balloon. :-) MaryL..."
The Red Siren doesn't really appeal to me. but I'd still be up for Passing by Samaria. it was my first choice originally as well.
Katherine wrote: "The Red Siren doesn't really appeal to me. but I'd still be up for Passing by Samaria. it was my first choice originally as well."Okay, that's two people (counting me) interested in Passing by Samaria! I'm hoping more folks might express an interest; but if not, it's also possible to do a two-person buddy read. (In fact, in my early years on Goodreads, that was the only kind of "buddy read" I'd ever heard of!) With reads of that type, the two people reading just use the Goodreads messaging system to share their comments back and forth; it doesn't require an actual thread in a group.
Victorian Christian author George MacDonald wrote both fantasy (which significantly influenced C. S. Lewis) and realistic novels. Published in 1875, The Fisherman's Lady, which actually was originally titled Malcolm, is one of the latter. It's on my to-read shelf, along with another of his realistic novels, Alec Forbes of Howglen. (The only book I've read by him so far is one of his fantasies, Phantastes (which got three stars from me, meaning that I liked it.)
Hopefully, our group might do a group read of one of MacDonald's novels sometime. One caveat with that, though --personally, my interest is in reading the actual words the author wrote (Victorian diction and all!) IMO, if you're going to claim to "read" an author's work, you owe him/her that much. The retitled Bethany House printing, however, is actually a re-write in which a modern editor "updated" the prose. That publisher has a whole series of similarly "updated" MacDonald works in print, also re-titled; they show up a lot in libraries and bookstores and on Amazon, and Goodreads lumps them together with the real thing as just different "editions." (In fact, it actually typically uses them as the default entry in its database for the particular MacDonald novel, since the policy now is to default to the latest "edition." :-( )
Werner wrote: "Katherine wrote: "The Red Siren doesn't really appeal to me. but I'd still be up for Passing by Samaria. it was my first choice originally as well."Okay, that's two people (counting me) intereste..."
Yeah, I noticed that The Fisherman's Lady was an "update" after my initial post. I should have mentioned that in my edit.
I also much prefer reading the actual words the author wrote. I really like the Victorian style of writing and am not into reading updated versions myself.
I'm still hoping to come up with a book that will draw participation from more than two people, and hopefully build on the enthusiasm expressed recently over on the "Common reads" thread. (That's why I've tailored my suggestions towards historical fiction by Christian authors.)What about
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers? I've never read any of her work, but I hear good things about it; and this novel, which is set in the Old West and inspired by the Old Testament book of Hosea, is one of a couple of hers on my to-read shelf. She's a best-selling and much-translated evangelical author, who's won the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).
If I can get a copy at my library, I would probably participate no matter the selection.
Thanks, Jessica, that's helpful to know!
Werner wrote: "I'm still hoping to come up with a book that will draw participation from more than two people, and hopefully build on the enthusiasm expressed recently over on the "Common reads" thread. (That's w..."I know many people love Redeeming Love . But I have also read many reviews by folks who found the content unacceptable.
This review
Hannah's Reviews > Redeeming Love and this one Natalie Vellacott's Reviews > Redeeming Love
say enough to make me decide its not for me.
Katherine wrote: "I know many people love Redeeming Love . But I have also read many reviews by folks who found the content unacceptable. ... its not for me."We'll cross that one off our shortlist, then!
Jessica, does your library have a copy of Passing by Samaria? (If not, are you familiar with the practice of interlibrary loan?)
Werner wrote: "Katherine wrote: "I know many people love Redeeming Love . But I have also read many reviews by folks who found the content unacceptable. ... its not for me."We'll cross that one off our shortlis..."
I am familiar with interlibrary loans. I actually work at our local library. They cost money here, so I tend not to use them unless it is something I really, really want to read. However, we do have a copy of Passing by Samaria, so that works for me.
Cool! Then since we have three people interested, let's plan on doing a buddy read of Passing by Samaria next month, starting on Dec. 1. That should allow for enough notice to finish our current reading and secure a copy; and hopefully some other folks in the group, whether they've commented here on this thread in the past few days or not, will decide to join us. I'll get a discussion thread up for us by the beginning of next month.(Ouch! If I had to pay for interlibrary loan, I'd be reluctant to use it too. :-( Most libraries offer it to their patrons as a free service.)
Werner wrote: "Cool! Then since we have three people interested, let's plan on doing a buddy read of Passing by Samaria next month, starting on Dec. 1. That should allow for enough notice to finish our current re..."Sounds great!
(Yes, it used to be free here, but during the recession of 2007-8 the library was forced to charge $2 per in state ILL and sometimes more for out of state ILLs to prevent cuts elsewhere and that policy has stuck ever since. :-( We do have a pretty good selection for a relatively small population though, as well as some digital offerings, so unless it is a more obscure or older title we usually have access to it for free.)
Werner wrote: "Cool! Then since we have three people interested, let's plan on doing a buddy read of Passing by Samaria next month, starting on Dec. 1. That should allow for enough notice to finish our current re..."Sounds good!
The discussion thread for Passing by Samaria is now up, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... , and ready to go for tomorrow! I've put it in the "Fiction: specific authors/books" folder, as being the most appropriate; that way, we can save the "Common reads" folder for our full-fledged group reads.
Jessica wrote: "Werner wrote: "Cool! Then since we have three people interested, let's plan on doing a buddy read of Passing by Samaria next month, starting on Dec. 1. That should allow for enough notice to finish..."I'm sorry to hear that, Jessica. I also live in IL, but our library only has me pay for books that come from out of state. So I'm glad for that! They are so nice - one book I wanted was only available from out-of-state, and they ordered it for part of their collection! I had to laugh, it was part of a strange SF series I was reading and I'm sure no one else will ever check it out. Good of them, tho.
Georgann wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Werner wrote: "Cool! Then since we have three people interested, let's plan on doing a buddy read of Passing by Samaria next month, starting on Dec. 1. That should allow for enough ..."Yes, the fee for inter library loans is a bummer. Our library is really good about purchase suggestions though. As long as what you request is in print, not crazy expensive (we have had purchase requests for rare books that are several hundred dollars per copy), and you don't make so many requests that it would take up our whole budget just to please you (we have had a certain patron that would make 10-15 purchase suggestions every week or so) than pretty much our library will buy what you ask for. Even as an employee I have made several purchase suggestions and all but one was quickly added to the collection. So at least we have that going for us!
One of our members has suggested the idea of an Easter-themed read. Would anyone else be interested in joining in something of this nature? Easter falls in April this year, so if others want to do this, my suggestion would be to schedule it for the month of April.Besides the question of whether to do this at all, another key point to decide would be what book to read. IMO, one that would fit really well would be The Robe (1942) by Congregational minister Lloyd C. Douglas, which earned four stars from me. I read it around 1998, and wouldn't reread it at this point (I have other reading commitments for April); but if enough people want to read it together, I'll join in the discussion.
I'd be willing to give The Robe a try.
Jessica wrote: "I'd be willing to give The Robe a try."Okay, that would make two readers (Cynda, who suggested the idea, would be the other one). Is anyone else interested? (If we create a discussion thread for the read, I think we ought to have at least three people reading.)
I read The Robe not too long ago. so I wouldn't be reading it again, but I might be able to join the discussion if chosen.
Yes! I am looking forward to reading The Robe. Long ago I watched the movie with my mother, so good memories for me. . . . .We're reading/discussing in April? I see you then.
Is anyone else interested in taking part in a buddy read of The Robe this April? I'll post a discussion thread on April 1, even though we only have two readers so far, because two other people are willing to contribute to the discussion. But it would be great to have some more people joining in the read!
I want to read The Robe as well. Just got my copy delivered 📖
Oh good Some Christian Lady :-) Now three.
Some Christian Lady wrote: "I want to read The Robe as well. Just got my copy delivered 📖"Great! Glad to have you with us.
Hi. I am looking for our buddy read group of threads. I see the common read threads, but not the buddy read threads. Will someone please tell me how to find? I am deep into The Robe and am ready to start talking.
Cynda, the discussion thread for The Robe is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... ; I posted it just now! Sorry about the delay; I was slow to get online today because of a men's breakfast at my church this morning.We don't actually have a separate folder for buddy reads threads. This one, and the one for the only other buddy read we've done in this group as yet, are both in the "Fiction: specific authors/books" folder. (So far, nobody's done any nonfiction buddy reads.)
Thanks Werner. I figured 50/50 I was missing thread or you were busy. I will post when I finish with some tasks.
Cynda wrote: "Thanks Werner. I figured 50/50 I was missing thread or you were busy. I will post when I finish with some tasks."Sounds good, Cynda!
Christian Goodreaders
Books mentioned in this topic
The Robe (other topics)Redeeming Love (other topics)
Phantastes (other topics)
Malcolm (other topics)
The Fisherman's Lady (other topics)
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