Proposed changes to timing of book selection (please read!)

[William]

After a fairly long discussion, the mods have decided to offer the following idea to the members of the group for vote: That beginning next month, the two books selected will be offset, or staggered by two weeks. That is to say, we will read one book for one month beginning on the 1st of the month, and the second for one month beginning on the 15th of the month. I will be posting a poll for everyone to vote on which will close on the 10th of this month. Should there be enough votes in favor, the mods will nominate a book for the mod pick quickly, to allow everyone to vote on it soon after. Questions? Ask them here!

[William]

Here's the link to the poll in case you didn't see it:
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/69...

[William]

Fascinating, one day later the poll is tied, 13-13. I'll be interested to see how this develops before Aug 10th, when the poll closes. There's potentially 548 more votes out there!

[Lily]

Besides the non-voters, you may miss some of us who are pretty neutral on the topic, that is, might have voted for a choice like "don't care." I see pros and cons of either system, especially on a month that one might be interested in both selections. But, I keep too much reading going; I have to make choices and also to not keep up with some things I would really like to do. On an open forum like these, one ends up depending on others to pick up the slack, which sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. (If I vote for something and it is selected, I do try to read it and participate in the discussion. I do consider that only fair to others.)

Thanks for asking our opinion, though.

[William]

Thanks for the comment, but there's another point to be had here..it's not fishing, where there's an active and eager fisherman desperately trying to lure a fish to engage (I say this as a fisherman, frequently desperate) but none of the mods made this group, we are members first like everybody. None of us have anything vested in it. We want to engage people, sure, but the problem is when people don't care, and aren't interested in the book or format, then in my opinion, WE are doing something not ideal. So I would like to know what we are missing short on, in books or format in order to be that perfect group, which we can never be for everybody, but we certainly can be for a subset of people. So you have too much going on, and some things you have to make a choice not to keep up with, that's very understandable. But let's say there was a group that you just couldn't help yourself, the group that just sucks you in. What would that group look like, what does that group provide? That's what I REALLY want to find out from all of you, because just like everybody else, I didn't create this group, I don't own it, I'm first and foremost, a member just like everybody else.

To finish off my fishing analogy, I'm another fish, trying to figure out the perfect habitat, not a fisherman trying to lure fish for some other end.

[Lily]

Will wrote: "To finish off my fishing analogy, I'm another fish, trying to figure out the perfect habitat, not a fisherman trying to lure fish for some other end ..."

Will -- this planet is a large and wonderful world. I love the trout stream you supply, just as I once loved donning waders and tramping the WI streams feeding Lake Superior. But for Coho and Northerns, we took the power boat; for Sunnies, a row boat on a quiet MN lake; and for salt-water fishing, the coast of Florida. So, please know the satisfaction of creating one fishing habitat on Goodreads, even if I would personally like one that spanned 1900-201x literature and haven't found such a group yet, or at least another one for 1900-2000.

[Deborah]

I am from Brooklyn. We buy our fish at the store.

[William]

@Deborah - Ew. You probably don't love fish then. It's like fruits and veggies, there's a huge difference in flavor in the first 2 hours or so after picking/killing. Fish from a store tastes like, well, old dead fish. Yum. I'm currently growing (trying to grow) a rare alpine strawberry that has fruit so delicate and powerful, it's like 10x the strawberry flavor but when you pick it, it practically begins to dissolve in your hand.

@Lily- But the point is we need the help to perfect this little habitat for this time period. I like the 1900 era, but the writing is so different from say 1914-1960 (post-modern, anyone?) And there are certainly groups that do a great job of specific types and periods, such as Brain Pain, my other favorite GR group, a titanic effort owned/run/programmed by ONE guy, who IMO is the best moderator I've ever seen. It's not time based, but obviously, Brain Pain based. But rarely will the brilliant and amazing books they read there crossover with the books we read here. Granted, specific authors might, such as Murakami, which we read 1Q84 recently, and I think Jim is considering The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or they're reading Infinite Jest later this year, and we're just getting into The Pale King, but otherwise we'll never read books like Ulysses or Gravity's Rainbow, their recent reads and life-changing, amazing novels...but they'll never read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Art of Fielding, or Slow Man which while very different, brought me exquisite pleasure. Fortunately, I can be in both.

And of course, perhaps you'll think up a totally different idea for a group. let me know, we might be interested!

[Lily]

Will wrote: "@Lily- But the point is we need the help to perfect this little habitat for this time period...."

Will -- I no longer ascribe to "perfection," but I repeat, I like the "little trout stream" for 21st century literature you all have created and plan to keep fishing here longer. Maybe eventually I'll have some helpful ideas. Mostly they would be ways to encourage people to post, if I could figure out what motivations might succeed. I love hearing the insights of others about what they have read -- the literature itself, the characters, the plots, the language, the artistry, the relationship to other literature and art, the relevance they see to life around us.