OPEN READs guidelines

[Lyn (Readinghearts), The mod of last resort/Mod #3]

It seems that our group reads are not getting much participation these days, so I decided to suspend them for the end of 2011. I really want this group to be more dynamic and have more discussion. As a result, for the rest of 2011, instead of Group Reads I would like to try something new. What I want to do is to have an Open Read contest. Beginning October 1, I will post a topic in the Open Reads folder for the month. The rules are simple:

Please make a post for each Royalty related book you read during the month. The post should contain:

1. Title and author of the book (preferably using the GR links so that others can find the book easily.)

2. Whether the book is Fiction or Non-fiction.

3. A short synopsis of the book which does not include spoilers.

4. What you thought of the book, including the GR rating that you gave it.

NOTE: To be considered "Royalty related" at least one of the central characters must be considered Royalty.

I hope that two things will come of this new folder. First, I hope it will give us all ideas of other books that we might be interested in. Second, I am hoping that it will foster discussion among the members regarding the books that have been listed. I am thinking of picking someone from among those who post to pick the area or person for our January reading.


*************UPDATE***************

Beginning in 2012 we will be picking a Royalty related topic for our monthly open read. Members will then be able to read as many books as they want on that topic and post reviews in that month's folder. Each month a member will be chose to pick the topic for the next month. The choice will be made in the following manner:

1. The person for the next month will be made by the person who picked the current month (I picked January so I will pick February)

2. On the 20th of the month the current picker will look at the last completed month's thread and use it to pick for the next month using the following guidelines:

each review posted gets 1 chance, so the more you read the more chances you get.

the next picker will be RANDOMLY picked from the entries in the thread.

So - for example..February's picker will look at the January thread and randomly pick the next member by giving one chance for each review posted. If the person chosen has been the picker in the last 6 months they are exempt and another person should be picked.

The new picker will refer to the list of previously picked royal topics and pick one that hasn't been picked for the past 24 months.

Hope this gets people reading! Enjoy!

[Christie]

I just finished The Forever Queen in Helen Hollick's Saxon Series. It is a fiction book about Emma of Normandy the Queen Consort of Aethelred and Cnut, both Kings of England before the Norman Invasion of 1066. The book follows her from her marriage at 13 to Aethelred to her early 50s. The story follows many of her struggles of being a foreigner in the English court and the struggles she had with her husband over the viking invasion of England. The later part of the book details her marriage to Cnut and the fighting between her sons and step-sons over the throne of England. It was quite an interesting and entertaining read about this amazing woman who was the wife of two Kings of England, the stepmother of two Kings of England, and the mother of two Kings of England.

I am so glad I picked this book up. This book was amazing and definitely gets 5 stars. The author has a great command of the English language. I really felt like I was there with Emma and Cnut and Godwine back in Medieval England. It was a really beautiful book about a time period very few people know about. I had come across Emma of Normandy in some of my random reading about the royalty of England, but I had never realized that when I saw Aethelred and Cnut were both married to an Emma of Normandy, it was the same Emma of Normandy! I really loved reading so much about this woman and her amazing life. I admit I hated her some times, but I think that is the mark of a good writer that she can write characters that can make you feel such strong emotions towards.

The only issue I had with the book was that since it covered nearly 40 years it was sometimes hard to keep up with how much time had passed without referring back to the individual chapter headers (which were awesome by the way with dates and locations). Other than that, I thought the book was absolutely amazing and cannot wait to read I Am the Chosen King the next book in the Saxon series.

[ladywallingford]

Christie wrote: "I just finished The Forever Queen in Helen Hollick's Saxon Series. It is a fiction book about Emma of Normandy the Queen Consort of Aethelred and Cnut, both Kings of ..."

I did my senior thesis on Emma of Normandy and I have to agree that she was definitely an interesting individual. To add to your list, she was also the great aunt of a King of England. Part of William the Conqueror's claim to the English throne rested on his blood link to Emma.