CONTEST: Win an Advanced Reading Copy!

[[deleted user]]

Thank you for joining us for the first few months of our book club! We would love to get some feedback – have you been reading along with us? Are you enjoying the conversations we’ve been having? Is there anything you would like to suggest that we read together? We would love to hear from you. Everyone who posts their feedback below will be entered to win one of these seven Advanced Reading Copies from some fabulous publishers. You have until Sunday January 25th to comment and win!



Winners will be randomly selected on Monday January 26th and will be able to pick up their ARC at the Oakville Public Library branch of their choice.

[Rocio]

I have really enjoyed everyone's comments, althought I have not been a very active participant, mainly because I am a slow reader and in all cases so far I have waited for the copy to be availale at the library, which has been almost at the end of the month. For this same reason I appreciate when the readers don't include "spoilers" if possible. All that being said, even after the group has started to read the new one i go back to read the comments when I finish the book and I still enjoy them very much.

[Charity]

I love the concept and would participate more if a) I had more time to read the books. If there was a 6 month schedule then I could read ahead of time and maybe choose the books I want to participate in; b) a specific time that we could all be online and live chat about a book?

It would also be great for book suggestions from the readers. There have been a couple titles I just couldn't get into.

[[deleted user]]

Mmoreno13 wrote: "I have really enjoyed everyone's comments, althought I have not been a very active participant, mainly because I am a slow reader and in all cases so far I have waited for the copy to be availale a..."
Mmoreno13, we are so pleased that you're enjoying our discussions! We think they have been great, too. It's always interesting to see what others think of a book and sometimes it even changes our own opinion.

For the most part, we are selecting titles that have had a wide readership and we hold many copies. We're sorry to hear you've had trouble getting the book in time to participate earlier in the month. If you're able to come to our branches, Fast Lane copies of our selected titles are often available throughout the month.

We'll continue to use spoiler alerts. We agree they're important and are trying to discuss the book chapter by chapter as the month progresses. Thanks for your feedback and we look forward to hearing from you in future months.

[[deleted user]]

Charity wrote: "I love the concept and would participate more if a) I had more time to read the books. If there was a 6 month schedule then I could read ahead of time and maybe choose the books I want to particip..."
Thanks for your feedback, Charity. Like you, we all wish that we had more time to read books! We have posted our next few upcoming reads but will post more of them as soon as possible. You'll notice that the April slot is open because we're hoping to discuss the Canada Reads winner (or a runner-up, if All My Puny Sorrows wins).

We'll consider your suggestion for a live chat in the future, and we would like to get suggestions from readers. We need to build up our membership before we can do those things. We have a good sense of what our customers like to read and what books make good book-club picks, so we're relying on that so far. We also recognize that all titles will not appeal to everyone, but we hope we pick a few that everyone will like throughout the year. In the in-person book clubs we run, members often say that one of the biggest benefits of being in a book club is that they're encouraged to read titles they would not otherwise try. We hope that will happen for some of our online book club members, too.

[Maureen]

I can't pass up on this! :-)

So far I've really enjoyed the online book club although, like mmoreno, I haven't found it easy to get my hot little hands on the book of the month. I didn't get Silent Wife til midway through the month, and Night Film (which is long) I had to try wade through as a Fast Lane. Happily a friend has come through with AMPS so, if all goes well, I can finish it in the next couple of days and join in properly. I had placed a hold on the book but, as of this past weekend, I was still 128th on the waitlist so it's a popular choice!

It would be wonderful if I enjoyed every book selected but even when I don't, I like the conversation. The different perspectives of our online contributors make each book so much more interesting.

What I did find was that it was tough to participate much through the holiday season. I wonder if others found this as well.

[[deleted user]]

Maureen wrote: "I can't pass up on this! :-)

So far I've really enjoyed the online book club although, like mmoreno, I haven't found it easy to get my hot little hands on the book of the month. I didn't get S..."

We're so glad to hear from you, Maureen, and have been enjoying your thoughtful posts. We appreciate hearing about your experience in obtaining titles - that will help us with future planning.

We were expecting the holiday season to be slow, but that's OK. Everyone was at home anticipating reading all the books they received for Christmas!

[Judi]

I too have not been an active participant due to not always having ready access to the book of the month. I agree that a six month lead time would be great. I did not read "Night Film" but have read the others. I find I am short of time reading for my regular book club, reading what I just want to read, and reading for OPL's book club each month.
You continue to provide a popular service.
Thanks

[[deleted user]]

Judi wrote: "I too have not been an active participant due to not always having ready access to the book of the month. I agree that a six month lead time would be great. I did not read "Night Film" but have rea..."
Thanks for your feedback, Judi. We understand the issue of finding the time to read everything we would like to read. We hope by choosing books that have had a wide readership and those which we hold a large number of copies, we can reach as many participants as possible. We will also ask general questions that don't require that you have read the book, so please keep looking for those.

[Ann]

I'm new to Oakville Reads so I haven't yet participated in any of the discussions. I am hoping to get through All My Puny Sorrows in time to participate though. Like many of the others who have already commented, having a longer time lead time on books that are coming up and/or having longer than a month to read the pick would be helpful. There are so many good books to read and always so little available reading time! I love the idea of a live chat. I think that would push me a bit to try and finish the book on time. Looking forward to becoming a more active participant in Oakville Reads!

[[deleted user]]

Ann wrote: "I'm new to Oakville Reads so I haven't yet participated in any of the discussions. I am hoping to get through All My Puny Sorrows in time to participate though. Like many of the others who have a..."

Hello Ann, and welcome to Oakville Reads! We believe in the necessity of a longer lead time, too. It will help give everyone an opportunity to read ahead, or pick and choose which books they'd like to focus on. The idea of a live chat with the author is ideal, isn't it? This is something that we have been thinking about too. Thanks for your input!! :)

[[deleted user]]

Thank you everyone, for participating in this thread!

Excellent news: everyone who has commented so far gets a free Advanced Reading Copy! We will be sending friend requests to all of you so that we can send you a direct message to find out the titles you are interested in, and which branch to send your book to.

Thanks again for giving us your feedback! It is always welcome. Now, to start reading The Invention of Wings... :)