The "to-be-determined" Bookshelf Thread

[Meghan]

Please use this thread to discuss books you are moving TO or FROM the TBD bookshelf. Use the "add book/author" link above to reference the book. You do not need to make an entry for newly added books.

Thank you!

[Charming, Order theorist]

I put all of the books that were not otherwise sub-shelved on the TDB shelf. Basically, anyone who has read a book can place it on the appropriate subshelves and take it off TBD.

The authors have been asked to do this for their books (and any books they have read), and we plan to ask the membership at large to shelve anything they've read in a few days (the authors are kind of the beta testers for our new shelves).

[Charming, Order theorist]

To add: I don't expect most books to need any discussion. They are on the TBD shelf because no one has shelved them, and not because of any inherent controversy. But if people have questions or want to discuss how a book should be categorized, please do.

[Charming, Order theorist]

I have messaged Cherie Noel and Ravyn to ask them to categorize the books they added to the shelf (since they have added the most). We are down to 73 (even though it still says 90 in the list) but we seem to have stalled out.

[Sassy]

what bookshelf? how do I find it?

[Sassy]

NM, I'm a little slow. I figured it out. :)

[Meghan]

Kernos wrote: "May I ask a question here?

I added Wraethtu to the shelves. This is an omnibus of the 1st 3 books in the 1st trilogy. Would you rather have the individual books listed?

Also this series is difficult to categorize as it is based on genetic modifications of males which creates a new humanoid species on Earth (or earth-like planet). However it also has a lot of fantasy elements and many people shelve it as fantasy. In my own database I categorize it as Sci-Fan, ie SF and Fantasy. Would such a shelf be useful here. I'm not sure as I have very few books I put into Sci-Fan. Just a thought.

[Meghan]

Hi Kernos, we may need to discuss both issues- a) what to do with omnibus editions and their separate book components and b) what to do about books that fall into the science-fantasy genre. Thank you!

[Charming, Order theorist]

Meghan (mm_reads) wrote: "Hi Kernos, we may need to discuss both issues- a) what to do with omnibus editions and their separate book components and b) what to do about books that fall into the science-fantasy genre. Thank you!"

Hmm. I wonder if we need another shelf. I am tempted to shoe-horn this into paranormal scifi, but it isn't really the same thing and the paranormal scifi shelf is already one of the biggest. Are there other books that would go on a new shelf?

I don't see any problem with shelving an omnibus myself.

[Meghan]

I have only started reading
Wraeththu, so I don't really know, but...

How much of it depends on the whole "new all-male species" vs the "regular old humans"? That is sort of set up right away in the book. Is the rest of the story based on that premise?

Could it go on the gay-lit-scifi shelf? I mean, couldn't it be considered a staple in gay lit? With the concept of the "new all-male species", that seems like a philosophical sort of premise.

It might fit on the paranormal-scifi shelf, I suppose. It is our largest shelf, but it's not all that huge. It just doesn't seem like it's terribly paranormal to me, at least not yet.

[Charming, Order theorist]

We are down to 42 books on our to-be-determined shelf. Good work everyone, and please carry on.

[Carole-Ann]

I've read What To Do With Lore - that's definitely SF and I assumed (o_o) that the series was set in a SF context which would fit with our criteria.

I haven't yet read the 3 following on in Jade Archer's "Contact" series although I do have them in my TBR file :)

Hope that helps.

[Meghan]

Hi,
It looks like http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85... has a science fiction background rather than a primarily sci-fi story.

[Charming, Order theorist]

Carole-Ann wrote: "I've read What To Do With Lore - that's definitely SF and I assumed (o_o) that the series was set in a SF context which would fit with our criteria."

Agreed - What To Do With Lore is definitely science fiction, albeit of the fluffy space opera/quasi-shifter sort. I would assume that the rest of the series is similar, so we could make an educated guess and put them on the same sub-shelves.

[Charming, Order theorist]

Meghan (mm_reads) wrote: "Hi,
It looks like http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85... has a science fiction background rather than a primarily sci-fi story."

I definitely wouldn't put it on the realistic-hard-scifi shelf.

[Carole-Ann]

Maybe I'm not looking in the right places :) but I was wondering why none of Mark Alders's books weren't on any list.

I know and are SciFi - with spaceships, space wars and aliens - and a fair bit of romance between various characters (all male).

I also think he has a number of others which would fit too.

[Charming, Order theorist]

Carole-Ann wrote: "Maybe I'm not looking in the right places :) but I was wondering why none of Mark Alders's books weren't on any list.

I know and [bookcover:Away..."

Ah; this is because no one has added them yet. Please do! Do you know how? If not take a look here, and let me know if you still have questions.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

[Bill]

Meghan (mm_reads) wrote: "How much of it depends on the whole "new all-male species" vs the "regular old humans"?

Not that much really in terms of conflict, but lots of details and scientific details about the differences. I cannot see them as paranormal at all, at least how I define it. The process of Wraeththu creation is natural, not supernatural.

I just looked at my GR shelves to see what I'd done with them, searching for "Storm Constantine". All are under gay-fiction, most science-fiction, some fantasy and one even on my pagan shelf. Don't call me consistent, HA. I've corrected that now. I'd suggest different books in the series had somewhat different feels to them.

If I were in charge, I'd put them on both SF and Fantasy shelves. And I'd shelve both omnibus and individual editions.

[Meghan]

I just added Emerald Fire .

This is about human colonists on a desert
planet, in particular the kind of life
stone miners lead. There is also a mystery
to be solved, along with the hard work.

I filed it under romance for now because there is only vague reference to computers and other devices being used. Most of the energy & water come from the stones. In some respects this can also be filed in science-fantasy which I'll do in the fantasy group. On the other hand, there isn't much of a fantasy element except for the desert planet. If anyone has read it, what's your opinion?

By the way, I liked the book and found the descriptions of adaptations to the planet pretty believable.

[Charming, Order theorist]

Meghan (mm_reads) wrote: In some respects this can also be filed in science-fantasy which I'll do in the fantasy group."

I've been stuffing this sort of thing under paranormal scifi, which makes me think we should change the name a bit. fantasy-paranormal-scifi maybe? Kind of long though.