The History Book Club discussion
WELCOME AND MODERATOR'S CORNER
>
THE MODERATOR'S CORNER - ANNOUNCEMENTS
Good, I noticed it this morning, but thought it was just a one-time thing.
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Discussion led by Assisting Moderator (The Grass Crown) - Vicki Cline
by
Colleen McCulloughSyllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/1...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on February 7, 2011.
Bentley
Mod
Discussion led by Assisting Moderator - Bryan Craig.
Walter R. BornemanSyllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/1...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on February 7, 2011.
Bentley
Mod
Discussion led by Assisting Moderator - Christopher Tolley.
Patrick O'BrianSyllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/1...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on March 28, 2011.
Bentley
Mod
Discussion led by Assisting Moderator - Elizabeth S.
Syllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
TOC and syllabus - thanks to Elizabeth S.
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/1...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on May 2, 2011.
Bentley
Erich Maria Remarque
Mod
Your responses help us with our planning and they assist the moderators who are going to run each upcoming book discussion.
We only send out the notifications for the formal book events that have been voted on by the group membership. We also have buddy reads going on; but we consider these informal and no event notifications are sent out for these; but feel free to jump into any buddy read thread; let them know you are interested in reading and discussing the selected book for that thread and you are in. They would love to have you join them.
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Discussion led by Assisting Moderator - Bentley
Syllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/1...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on June 20, 2011.
Bentley
Barbara W. Tuchman
Mod
Never too late to get caught up.
Hilary MantelHere are the links:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
Here is the Table of Contents and Syllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
Mod
Discussion led by Group Founder and Leader - Bentley
Syllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
TBD
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on December 4, 2011.
Bentley
Judith Herrin
Mod
The History Book Club has put up a new poll for voting from all of the group recommended books for the next Presidential Series read. This voting selection deals with former President William Jefferson Clinton.
If you have already voted, thank you very much for doing so because it helps the group select each read democratically and fairly.
If you have not voted please do so: the poll will be available only until April 21st. It is open now.
Here is the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/81...
We appreciate your voting and this is the only formal reminder you will receive regarding this poll.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation. If you missed the nominations and you have a favorite book not on the list, send me a PM and I will add it - it must be a book by or about William Jefferson Clinton.
Bentley
Note: The History Book Club sends only one broadcast per poll; you will never receive multiple broadcasts on any poll from us. There will be no other formal reminders. So please remember to vote.
Mod
There is a new feature which has cropped up in the last couple of days. However, HBC will not be using it and any discussion questions initiated will be deleted. Other groups may be using it but we will not.
Bentley
Mod
We have noticed that a few newcomers have not introduced themselves which is a requirement of group membership. Please take a look at our introduction thread and post a short introduction about yourself. It does not have to be long or to be that personal.
We have other minimum guidelines which are not difficult but we do ask you to participate in one discussion a year and contribute on any thread one or two times a month. Again very easy to do.
We have polls and event notifications which we like folks to respond to which helps us out a great deal with our planning and we ask that folks add a book cover, the author's photo and the author's link when doing citations.
There is no self promotion on this site.
I am attaching the rules, guidelines and orientation here for all newcomers who have not introduced themselves:
Our guidelines:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
How to Get Started:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
The above rules and guidelines are not optional. But we do everything we can to welcome you and to assist you in any way that we can so that you will enjoy your time here.
Mod
There is a poll now open to vote for the next Presidential Series selection. This will be a John Quincy Adams selection based upon the votes of the group membership in terms of which presidents they wanted to read first.
We have already completed selections about FDR, Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Grant, Polk and we are about to begin the William Jefferson Clinton selection in June. We began polling in March 2009 regarding our presidents.
This poll will select the book we will read after Clinton.
All books nominated by the group members are noted and included on the voting list of books.
Please take the time to vote now so that your vote may be counted. It helps the group gauge interest in various selections and helps set up a prioritized listing of all of the books nominated by group members. Your vote also helps determine which book will be selected next for the group read and also what books are next in line to read.
Here is the link to the poll on John Quincy Adams.
Thank you for your anticipated support.
Bentley
Note: This poll will be only open for three weeks so make sure you vote. Poll opened today May 6, 2011 and will close on June 16, 2011.
One other thing: Don't complain about the book selected if you did not even vote. Your votes determine the order of the presidents that we read about or not and we get all recommendations for books to read about these presidents from the group membership. If a book is not on the poll list, then you did not let us know about it. It is not too late to add your favorite to the poll list so just alert me to the book you are interested in. We nominated all books on the John Quincy Adams Presidential thread. All of the nominations on the poll came from books nominated by the group membership and ones which were added to that thread. Also, do not vote for the book selection here; you must vote on the poll. It is tabulated fair and square by the goodreads software. Thanks for your vote in advance.
Mod
Just as an FYI:
Two major group reads are beginning in June. Therefore, you will notice that we are setting up the threads in anticipation of the weekly threads which will be opened up regularly once the reads begin.
The two that will begin soon are:
Bill Clinton
Barbara W. TuchmanHowever, All Quiet on the Western Front is in progress already and there are a few buddy reads going on right now simultaneously as well as updates being made to all of our threads.
Some book discussions that are already underway:
Erich Maria Remarque
Jonathan Dimbleby
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Discussion led by Group Founder and Leader - Bentley
Syllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/2...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on December 4, 2011.
Bentley
Judith Herrin
Mod
Please select from a wide variety of Civil War books recommended and suggested by our group members.
This will be the first military selection and will be voted for by our group membership. The group members choose the book.
This will be the initiation of the Military Series. Our discussion moderator will be Assisting Moderator - Bryan Craig. The book selected will begin in February 2012 and go for three months.
The American Civil War was the highest vote getter so that is going to be our kick-off topic.
Get out and vote.
Thank you,
Bentley
Here is a link to the poll: (on the main page of the History Book Club - just scroll down to the very bottom and you will see the featured poll_
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/59...
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Discussion led by Assisting Moderator - Vicki Cline
by
Colleen McCulloughSyllabus:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
Kickoff Thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
Event Notification Link (check out which group members may be joining you):
http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/3...
Please join us and everybody is welcome. The threads will be open on April 18, 2012.
Sorry for the late announcement but the Goodreads site has not been cooperative in being able to send out the event notifications and for set up. Things seem to be quieting down today.
Bentley
Mod
Please join in on the discussion and you will get the opportunity to ask Mr. Weiner questions about the FBI and his book. This is a great opportunity for our group members.
Here is the link to the Q&A thread with Tim:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...
Bentley
by
Tim Weiner
Mod
“Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June.”
This is the challenge for the end of May through June 20th which focuses our attention globally:
So the challenge is:
Around the World - Pick Five
To Read: 5 books|
Dates: May 20th through June 20th|
Goal: Read 5 books this month and within the dates above - Each of the five books could be focused/be about/have a scene or even a bit action in a different country (so if you read 5 books - five countries are referenced in some way, etc.); they can reference a particular country, be about a particular country, take place (even one chapter) in a particular country or be about a person who is from a particular country (so if you read about an individual who is from the US - the other 4 books cannot be about a person from the US but some other country) - books can be non fiction, historical fiction, history related or even fiction - the sky is the limit|
Report: Your reading challenge experiences on the shelf that you have created for the challenge.|
Please join in. Just sign in and say how many books you plan to read about the world and its inhabitants and create your own personal shelf to add them to when you have finished reading them. That is all there is to it and goodreads will keep track. Bon voyage.
Note: Don't forget to set up your shelf first and then add the name of that shelf here when setting up the challenge for yourself.
We hope you will participate in this challenge which is being kicked off today.
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The Get Crackin challenge ended on May 19th. Congrats are in order for those folks who completed the challenge. There was a 70% completion rate: way to go all.
Mod
I have done the following to try to remedy the situation:
a) I have contacted the Goodreads Feedback thread and posted about the situation. There was a note posted from somebody named rivka who asked that we post the links or the urls of what we are seeing. I did that. Still things are not working and I had received no further feedback.
b) I sent a PM to rivka letting this person know that the urls had been posted. It is still too early to ascertain whether I will get a response or not. And I really do not know who actually from Goodreads is in charge. The feedback from goodreads staff seems to be sporadic at best.
c) Next, I will send the note to Kara and see how that works. But I apologize that access to the other videos is non existent right now and it is beyond our control.
d) According to another moderator, she can get the links to work for the History Book Club but not for the group she moderates and the reverse is true for me. We wonder if it is only the mods of their own groups who cannot access the links for More Videos and Videos. That would be an interesting feature.
UPDATE - BUG BEING LOOKED INTO - STILL NOT RESOLVED
e) Goodreads has responded (Kara) and they are looking into it; supposedly they had a bug that they fixed last week for other sites having the same problem; we did not have the problem at that time; will keep you posted.
UPDATE - BUG FIXED - THANK YOU GOODREADS.
Mod
Regarding Challenges
There seem to be some anomalies with this feature as well - though we were told it is still in beta.
a) The challenges when they pass the End Date do not automatically archive and drop off the main screen like events and polls do. There was no way I could archive the darn thing (Get Crackin). I was forced to delete it because the main page does not have enough room to be taken up by two challenges. All participants please note that all of the books you shelved are still residing in that shelf so there are no worries.
b) I also noted that the challenge correctly updated the percentages of the books completed against the number of books in the community goal but did not even at the end of the challenge correctly note how many folks completed or exceeded their completed challenge - Very odd. Everything else seemed to work properly in terms of adding the books to the shelf that every participant set up, etc.
c) I noted this in the Goodreads Feedback forum and it has been posted since May 13th with no response whatsoever. I included this problem in a separate PM to rivka and asked who was in charge of responding in the Goodreads Forum and will let you know if we get a response. I personally have no idea who is in charge but I had noticed that rivka seemed to be posting that she had done resets and other things so I have my fingers crossed. But I wanted to alert all group members that these goodreads programming issues had been noted and reported by your group leaders as we always do but we have not gotten any response. When we get a response we will update and let you know.
Re: Around the World . - may I use books I am currently reading? I am reading a book on FDR and the author and I don't exactly see eye to eye, so I am writing many notes to match his polemic which takes up time, but I should be finished by June 20. Also, does ancient Rome count, if I am finished with Caesar's Women by then? (smile) Don't know if I can do this, but I will try!Thanks.
Mod
And you are welcome but don't forget those citations.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
by
Colleen McCullough
Mod
Here is a little bit more about the choice: House of Stone is the story of a battle-scarred home and a war correspondent s jostled spirit, and of how reconstructing the one came to fortify the other. In this poignant and resonant memoir, the author creates a mosaic of past and present, tracing the house s renewal alongside his family s flight from Lebanon and resettlement in America. In the process, Shadid memorializes a lost world, documents the shifting Middle East, and provides profound insights into this volatile landscape. House of Stone is an unforgettable meditation on war, exile, rebirth, and the universal yearning for home.
I think your posts are self promoting.
by Anthony Shadid
Dear Bentley,I just joined and am learning my way around. Where's the best place to post about a book I especially enjoyed, i.e. I just finished a book about Grover Cleveland's secret jaw surgery that was especially interesting. Do you have a recommendation section?
Thanks, Diana
Diana:Check out the The Presidential Series:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
We have a folder for each president.
Thanks! I didn't know that existed. I keep finding new things here! Diana
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Could someone tell me how to delete friends? Pressed the wrong button (again!)
Louise, click on the person you want to remove to go to their goodreads profile page. Scroll to the very bottom and in the lower left corner you will see text that says "remove as friend." It is a light color and small type so look closely but it's there. Click on that and it should remove that person from your friends list.
You are welcome. I knew it had to be there but was hard to find becuase it is buried at the bottom of the page.
Where can I find the current and upcoming group reads? I seem to catch one after it's already begun or finished. Is there a thread that has the dates current reads are happening, and when future reads begin and maybe even a discussion thread where upcoming group books are being voted on? Thanks! Loving the group so far!
Jason wrote: "Where can I find the current and upcoming group reads? I seem to catch one after it's already begun or finished. Is there a thread that has the dates current reads are happening, and when future re..."The current and upcoming group reads are found near the top of the History Book Club home page just below the group introduction. We hope you will join some of those discussions.
Future reads are voted upon in the "Polls" thread, which can be found at this link.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
In the event that the group is receiving ARC copies of books through our relationship with Random House Publishing, our group founder and leader, Bentley, will create a new topic.
Jason, in addition, there are often notifications that go out to all members when a group read is about to start to give people a chance to get involved if they have not already indicated they will be joining a read. You can always join a discussion in progress, as the discussion threads are planned out over a course of several weeks, and because not everyone reads at the same pace we keep the threads up for awhile to give folks a chance to add their perspective, check the glossary threads, etc.
Glad you are enjoying the group, and we look forward to your parcitipation!
Thank you Alisa! I've browsed through the sections and seen done of that but needed someone to tie it all together so I wasn't missing something. I appreciate your help!
Mod
In the coming weeks, I will be moving some of the completed book discussions to other folders, etc. If you access the "read" books below on the main History Book Club thread, in each and every case, it will list the folder where you can access the completed discussions.
This morning - I archived the The Passage of Power book and discussion. It is located in the Presidential Series folder with other archived books which are about other presidents.
Any group member can access all of these completed threads, still start and read any book and post about it. They are always open; just moved to another thread for storage purposes to make the readability of the site itself better.
by
Robert A. CaroHere is the link to the folder: (you will have to scroll down)
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
Mod
In the coming weeks, I will be moving some of the completed book discussions to other folders, etc. If you access the "read" books below on the main History Book Club thread, in each and every case, it will list the folder where you can access the completed discussions.
This morning - I archived the John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life book and discussion.
It is located in the Presidential Series folder with other archived books which are about other presidents.
Any group member can access all of these completed threads, still start and read any book and post about it. They are always open; just moved to another thread for storage purposes to make the readability of the site itself better.
Here is the link to the folder: (you will have to scroll down but all weekly threads and spoiler threads are there for the entire discussion)
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
by Paul C. Nagel (no author's photo available)
Mod
Just as an FYI - I am setting up a new folder devoted to Russia. Of course we are aware that Russia has changed its name many times - and this folder will deal with all of its rich history and name changes, political and otherwise.
I will set up additional threads as time goes on. And I will move the historical Russia thread from the World History folder to this folder.
Russia has such a rich and vibrant past that this should be exciting.
Great idea on the Russia thread, Bentley. A welcome and sure to be interesting addition to our evolving group. Nice.
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Mod
In the coming weeks, I will be moving some of the completed book discussions to other folders, etc. If you access the "read" books below on the main History Book Club thread, in each and every case, it will list the folder where you can access the completed discussions.
This evening - I archived the Enemies: A History of the FBI book and discussion.
It is located in the American Government folder with other archived books which are about government topics and interest areas.
Any group member can access all of these completed threads, still start and read any book and post about it. They are always open; just moved to another thread for storage purposes to make the readability of the site itself better.
Here is the link to the folder: (you will have to scroll down but all weekly threads and spoiler threads are there for the entire discussion)
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
by
Tim Weiner
Mod
In the coming weeks, I will be moving some of the completed book discussions to other folders, etc. If you access the "read" books below on the main History Book Club thread, in each and every case, it will list the folder where you can access the completed discussions.
This evening - I archived the Dr. Zhivago book and discussion.
It is located in the Russia folder with other archived books which are about Russia or take part in Russia.
Any group member can access all of these completed threads, still start and read any book and post about it. They are always open; just moved to another thread for storage purposes to make the readability of the site itself better.
Here is the link to the folder: (you will have to scroll down but all weekly threads and spoiler threads are there for the entire discussion)
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...
by
Boris Pasternak
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Chandigarh: The Backstory - And The City It Couldn't Be (other topics)A Promised Land (other topics)
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 (other topics)
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 (other topics)
Hell and Other Destinations: A 21st-Century Memoir (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Vibhor Mohan (other topics)Barack Obama (other topics)
Garrett M. Graff (other topics)
Garrett M. Graff (other topics)
John M. Barry (other topics)
More...
FYI:
When viewing a topic, the link to the topic's parent folder in the navigation above the topic is broken. It seems that the URL lacks the group ID.
I and many other group moderators have reported this to goodreads.
UPDATE:
THIS HAS BEEN FIXED. Thank you Goodreads.