Beyond Reality discussion
Question of the Week
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QotW #100!! Again for the first time?
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I love these questions, but usually have trouble coming up with answers. This week's, um, I'm sure there are some, but any good examples, can't recall. The best books hold up to rereading well, like The Hobbit, The Martian, and Becky Chambers' stories. So, a book with a surprise ending might work? I'll think further, and hope others' responses prompt my memory.
As far as BotM, I'd participate more if my taste/interests happened to match the majority. But it's nbd to me to skip the ones I'm not interested in. I'm still enjoying the group!
Possibly have theme months? Perhaps, sometimes, to correspond to some of the more extensively answered Questions of the Week? I mean, if we do get enough answers to this question, we could have a month when we nominate from the titles listed here.
Or possibly a month when we read what we each choose a book or two from a given theme, then share. Might work best if the theme is made fairly narrow. For example, one month we could all talk about various sapient pets/sidekicks, and another month about androids who are people, rather than a month that broadly talks about non-human people.
(Sorry for poor grammar etc. Rough night; festival in town kept me awake and woke me early.)
You should know by now that I can never give just one example. :)Some of mine would be
Recursion
Blindsight
Piranesi
The Last Conversation
Glasshouse
American Elsewhere
Walking to Aldebaran (though a second read is also required)
There can be something special when reading a book for the first time. That sense of discovery I guess, of not knowing what is going on or what will happen to the characters. That unpredictability that ignites curiosity. That "Oh!" moment when everything clicks together. We loose that on subsequent readings, no matter how good the books are. Though the good books can also have a complexity that makes rereads enjoyable as well. Knowing where things are leading makes it easier to spot the bread crumbs the author left behind.
As for participation, I'd really love to see more stand alone books and fewer that are part of series. Especially if its a series where we read the first book some years ago.
But my main problem is just life. I spend approximately 3 hours a day commuting. Add that to my work day, that's 11-12 hours a day either at work or getting to/from work. And that assumes I don't have long work days (which can often happen). Try to get 8 hours of sleep a night, that means I have maybe 4-5 hours a day to do every single thing I want or need to do that is not work or sleep related. That's getting ready for work in the morning, all my chores, exercise, spending time with my husband, spending time with friends, and pursuing various interests (I have a lot of hobbies I rotate through, reading is just one of them). Obviously my free time is not something the mods here can fix. :)
But, the lack of my time means I am much much less likely to read a BotM that doesn't jump out of me. I don't have time to read things I'm likely not going to enjoy, are by authors I don't enjoy, parts of series where I disliked the first book, or involve subgenres I strongly dislike (space opera, alt history, romance, YA, paranormal, fairy tale retellings, and similar).
I've also been a member of this group since 2009. I'm much less likely to want to reread books we've read in the past. I mean the entire point of me joining Goodreads was to stop my reread cycles. :)
Note: this is not me asking the group to change, just explaining why I can often skip months at a time.
Mod
On the other topics—I don’t read every Book of the Month. Some don’t interest me and sometimes I just want to whittle away at my own TBR list.
I agree that I prefer stand-alone books for BotM, especially if the rest of the series is still in the author’s mind. But mostly I want the group to read & discuss what appeals to you!
I like the idea of themes, at least once in a while. I know in the past we did “classic” SF and Fantasy BotM occasionally.
I'm not sure how to express this, but I don't actually want to have any books that I wish I could read for the first time again. I love finishing books, and I don't ever wish I could go back and re-read it, never mind wish I had never read it, so I can read it for the first time again. I have tried a few re-reads of books I loved and I think for the most part I loved those books at that time, but not necessarily now. So it would almost ruin it to lose the memory. And my response might not be the same, which means I would lose a favourite book too.
As for feedback, I like having books of the month but I also only read the ones I'm interested in and I find quite a few are not my style (Scalzi, Alt history, YA). I don't read series books that are other than the 1st one as I am newer to the group and probably didn't read the rest of the series yet.
I like the idea of the series reads but find that they are just too much commitment for me. I often read on a whimsy and can't stick to a plan like that.
I like the QotW, even though I don't always answer.
I can't imagine what book I'd like to read again for the first time, but then again, I don't need to. I'm currently listening to the the Hunger Games, and as it has been decades since I read them, I've forgotten most of the story, so it feels like I'm reading them again for the first time. :)
Beyond Reality
Books mentioned in this topic
Recursion (other topics)Blindsight (other topics)
Piranesi (other topics)
The Last Conversation (other topics)
Glasshouse (other topics)
More...
This week's question: What's one book you wish you could read again for the first time?
And a bonus question for #100: What else would you like to see here at Beyond Reality that would help you engage more? What do you like that we should keep doing? Give the mods some feedback!