Voting

[Lisa]

Please vote for 6 of the suggested themes in this thread.
The six with the most votes will be chosen for next year.
Suggested themes:
1 African-American Women Writers before 1990 5
2 African Women Writers (timeline to be decided) 8
3 Australian Women Writers 5
4 Asian Women Writers 7
5 Chronology (middle ages, romantic period, etc)2
6 Most Overlooked Classic by A Women Writer 8
7 Non-European Women Writers 5
8 Reread (reread a book from the group's "read" shelf) 5
9 Short Stories 2
10 Poetry 1
11Indigenous women writers 1
12 Sci Fi/ dystopian 2
13Religious philosophy 2
14 Nobel prize winners 6
15 Biographies of female writers 5

Voting is open until 3 November

[Lisa]

My choices:
1) African writers
2) African- American writers
3) religious philosophy
4) Australian writers
5) Asian writers
6) biographies

[Anastasia Kinderman, The Only]

My choices:
1) Reread
2) Indigenous Women Writers
3) SciFi/Dystopian
4) Most Overlooked Classic
5) African Women Writers
6) Asian Women Writers

[☯Emily , The First]

My choices:

1) African American writers
2) African writers
3) Nobel prize winners
4) Non-European writers
5) Most overlooked classic
6) Asian writers

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

My choices in no particular order:

1) Indigenous Women

2) Asian Women

3) African Writers

4) Most Overlooked Classic

5) Non-Euro

6) Reread from the group shelf

[Helen_in_the_uk]

My votes would be:
- African-American Women Writers before 1990
- Australian Women Writers
- Most Overlooked Classic by A Women Writer
- Reread (reread a book from the group's "read" shelf)
- Biographies of female writers

[Carolien]

My votes
African women writers
Australian women writers
Biographies
Nobel prize winners
Most overlooked classic
Asian women writers

[Alexa]

My choices:
1. Chronology
2. Non-European (which I am assuming also means non-American-of-European descent? That way it also includes #s 1, 2, 3, 4, and 11.)
3. A different chronology
4. More non-European
5. Another different chronology
6. And even more non-European.

Am I allowed to vote that way?

[Lisa]

Alexa, my best solution would be to count each suggestion as a vote. So three to chronology and three to non European. Not sure how else to add it up.

[Caty]

My votes are
-African Women Writers
-Most Overlooked Classic by A Women Writer
-Non-European Women Writers
-Nobel prize winners
-Biographies of female writers
-Reread

[Karlyne]

Ok, here are mine:

Most overlooked classic by a woman writer
Poetry
Australian women writers
Re-read from the group shelf
Short stories
Chronology

[Anastasia Kinderman, The Only]

Lisa wrote: "Alexa, my best solution would be to count each suggestion as a vote. So three to chronology and three to non European. Not sure how else to add it up."

So basically using multiple votes for two categories instead of allowing only one vote per category...?

[☯Emily , The First]

I'm not sure what we mean by chronology. Do we read several books in one month in a certain order?

[Karlyne]

☯Emily wrote: "I'm not sure what we mean by chronology. Do we read several books in one month in a certain order?"

"period" books, I think it means, Emily. Medieval, romantic era, etc.?

[Lisa]

Karlyne wrote: "☯Emily wrote: "I'm not sure what we mean by chronology. Do we read several books in one month in a certain order?"

"period" books, I think it means, Emily. Medieval, romantic era, etc.?"

That was my understanding too.

[Lisa]

Anastasia wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Alexa, my best solution would be to count each suggestion as a vote. So three to chronology and three to non European. Not sure how else to add it up."

So basically using multiple vo..."

That's my suggestion, waiting for Alexa's feedback. Would welcome other ideas though:-)

[Lisa]

I've tallied votes thus far.

Alexa, I did not add yours in yet, I'd like to confirm that you agree with my suggestion or if you want to change it.

[Lisa]

Helen_in_the_uk wrote: "My votes would be:
- African-American Women Writers before 1990
- Australian Women Writers
- Most Overlooked Classic by A Women Writer
- Reread (reread a book from the group's "read" shelf)
- Biogr..."

You gave 5, would you like to add 1 more?

[Helen_in_the_uk]

Lisa wrote: "Helen_in_the_uk wrote: "My votes would be:
- African-American Women Writers before 1990
- Australian Women Writers
- Most Overlooked Classic by A Women Writer
- Reread (reread a book from the group..."

Well if we CAN vote twice for a category, I'll give another vote to Biographies. If not, I'll leave it at 5 votes :)

[Theresa]

Nobel Prize winners
Non European woman writers
Religious Philosophy
Sci Fi/dystopia
short stories
biographies

[Alexa]

Lisa wrote: "I've tallied votes thus far.

Alexa, I did not add yours in yet, I'd like to confirm that you agree with my suggestion or if you want to change it."

Yes, that works great for me, if it seems fair to others. Thanks!

[Anastasia Kinderman, The Only]

Lisa wrote: "Anastasia wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Alexa, my best solution would be to count each suggestion as a vote. So three to chronology and three to non European. Not sure how else to add it up."

So basically..."

I guess I was under the impression that it was one vote per category...and I think it'd be simpler if we did that...

[Alexa]

All right, never mind. Ignore my previous vote and I'll revote.

1. Non-European Women Writers
2. Chronology
3. African-American Women Writers before 1990
4. Nobel prize winners
5. African Women Writers
6. Asian Women Writers

[Lisa]

Thanks Alexa.

To recap everybody, it's one vote per category.

[Hilary]

My choices would be:
1. African Women Writers
2. African American Women Writers
3. Asian Women Writers
4. Australian Women Writers
5. Most overlooked classic by a woman
6. Nobel Prize Winners

[Lisa]

Updated

[Everyman]

Lisa wrote: "Please vote for 6 of the suggested themes in this thread...."

Looking at the updated list as of message 26, I find it interesting (and, frankly, a bit discouraging) that there are no categories (with the possible exception of re-reads and the undefined Chronology which only has two votes) that allow for reading what I think most readers would consider the major Women's Classic Literature authors. No category, for example, for Austen, any of the Brontes, George Eliot, Mrs. Oliphant, Elizabeth Gaskell, Virginia Woolf, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Harper Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, and on and on.

But then, I'm a man, so what do I know?

[Karlyne]

Everyman wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Please vote for 6 of the suggested themes in this thread...."

Looking at the updated list as of message 26, I find it interesting (and, frankly, a bit discouraging) that there are no..."

Thanks for the best laugh of the morning, Everyman! You make a very good point, too...

[Lisa]

Hi Everyman
As we will only have themes every second month (to include books that get overlooked), the other 6 months are for the classic female authors as before.

[Karlyne]

Lisa wrote: "Hi Everyman
As we will only have themes every second month (to include books that get overlooked), the other 6 months are for the classic female authors as before."

I hadn't realized that, either, Lisa. Are we going to have an author featured every other month?

[☯Emily , The First]

Everyman wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Please vote for 6 of the suggested themes in this thread...."

Looking at the updated list as of message 26, I find it interesting (and, frankly, a bit discouraging) that there are no..."

We will still have an opportunity to read the major authors the remaining six months of the year. We took nominations from the group several weeks before we voted. We are now voting to see which nominations the group wants to read.

[☯Emily , The First]

Everyman, I think some of the authors you mentioned can be read under "most overlooked classic." I have never read anything by Mrs. Oliphant or ever heard of her.

[Lisa]

Karlynne, I don't think we'd thought of that. The basic idea was to continue with the greats but get more variety too. This was our best compromise.

[Karlyne]

Lisa wrote: "Karlynne, I don't think we'd thought of that. The basic idea was to continue with the greats but get more variety too. This was our best compromise."

Sounds good to me!

[Karlyne]

☯Emily wrote: "Everyman, I think some of the authors you mentioned can be read under "most overlooked classic." I have never read anything by Mrs. Oliphant or ever heard of her."

I had to look Mrs. Oliphant up because the only Oliphant I've ever heard of was in Tolkien's poem. She looks like an interesting read. I don't recall ever seeing any of her works anywhere, though.

[Helen_in_the_uk]

Karlyne wrote: I had to look Mrs. Oliphant up because the only Oliphant I've ever heard of was in Tolkien's poem. She looks like an interesting read. I don't recall ever seeing any of her works anywhere, though..."

Mrs Oliphant was an author I only came across recently through a read with another GR group. Great writer once you get past the long-winded sentences used in her style. Her books are readily available through Amazon and on Kindle. HTH :)

[Anastasia Kinderman, The Only]

Everyman wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Please vote for 6 of the suggested themes in this thread...."

Looking at the updated list as of message 26, I find it interesting (and, frankly, a bit discouraging) that there are no..."

We wanted to allow for more diversity in the group reads (African writers, etc) while also staying true to the group's original intent which is to read the great classical women authors. I would consider each non-themed month to really be a month where the authors you mentioned are nominated.

Not really sure how that'd be discouraging...

[Lisa]

Right so voting is closed
The top four:

African women writers
Most overlooked classic
Asian women writers
Nobel prize winners

There is a five way-tie for themes five and six.

I have therefore created a run-off poll featured here
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

The top two will complete our themes

[Everyman]

I voted for biography hoping that it would include autobiography, which would allow Beryl Markham's West with the Night and also Mary Kingsley's Travels in West Africa as nominations, both delightful books about strong and independent women who undertook things that women were not supposed to do in their day and age. (Markham took up flying in Africa during the very early days of aviation and flew professionally all around the continent, and Mary Kingsley, after a very restricted young womanhood caring for her father, after his death decided to go see Africa for herself, and traveled, often alone, through West Africa describing, in a wonderfully understated and almost blase manner her encounters with crocodiles (she had to fend an aggressive one off with her canoe paddle), deep swamps, encounters with not always friendly native tribes, and other experiences, all the while wearing full Victorian women's attire.

[Helen_in_the_uk]

Everyman wrote: "I voted for biography hoping that it would include autobiography, which would allow Beryl Markham's West with the Night and also Mary Kingsley's Travels in West Africa as nominations, both delightf..."

Loving the sound of both of these books (especially Mary Kingsley's as it is free on Kindle!)

[Andrea AKA Catsos Person]

Everyman, both of these books sound really interesting!

[Anastasia Kinderman, The Only]

Everyman wrote: "I voted for biography hoping that it would include autobiography, which would allow Beryl Markham's West with the Night and also Mary Kingsley's Travels in West Africa as nominations, both delightf..."

Wow, those books sound so interesting! Both those books would be eligible for nomination under Biography.

[Carolien]

Everyman wrote: "I voted for biography hoping that it would include autobiography, which would allow Beryl Markham's West with the Night and also Mary Kingsley's Travels in West Africa as nominations, both delightf..."

West with the Night was recommended to me earlier this week as well, so I am definitely adding that to my list. I've downloaded the Mary Kingsley so we should definitely read that one!