I really wish we would have let kyteflyer chime in on the Short Stories issue before this went live. Or at least changed the one that she didn't vote for to just short stories since everyone who voted for that one agreed to the change. Kyteflyer's input was before it was established that one was single author and one was various author, so it is very unclear which she would have wanted. :( Any chance that if one of them wins it can be changed to just short stories?

Based on the vote, so far, it seems clear (by 2 to 1) that more people are interested in same author stories than anthologies, especially since everyone has had the opportunity to vote for both, if so inclined. I'm not sure why the categories would have to be combined.

I would have preferred just one category for Short Stories and would have supported it if looked like it might push out a category that I was less interested in. As it stands, if there is a tie for the 10th spot, I'll shy away from the Short Stories.

Most short story anthologies from various authors contain stories that are part of a series. What I'd like to know is can anyone actually find enough short story anthologies from various authors (that have no stories that are pat of a series)? I'm asking because I don't see this actually working.

I do see short stories from one author working much better. It is easier to find a collection from one author that's nothing to do with any series.

Yout ten categories as it stands right now are:

• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Mystery
• History
• Thriller, Suspense & Crime
• Humor
• PCML
• Biography and Memoirs
• Science

With a three way run off for the tenth spot between:

• Historical Fiction
• Short Stories (same author)
• War

Still lots of time and closeness in voting for this to change dramatically.

http://www.amazon.com/Hugo-Award-Sho...rds=Hugo+award

http://www.amazon.com/Lightspeed-Yea...rds=Lightspeed

I didn't look if they were part of series, but I don't really care. :)

And how many do we actually need? By the time we run out, we'll probably have changed categories multiple times for the MR book club. :)

Also, couldn't an anthology by a single author contain series references?

I never said a short story collection by one author would not contain stores that are part of a series. But, it's a lot easier to find a book from one author that has no series stories.

Come on Historical Fiction! It's a great category!!

But the current vote doesn't have a combined category so we don't know which one would have been favored in that case. I don't think they have to be combined but the only reason we didn't combine them was because of an assumption after-the-fact about which way kyteflyer wanted things to go (when she first nominated short stories it didn't have the same/various authors attached to them). We never got clarification from her so we don't know what her intention was.

I think a combined category may have had more interest than the smaller categories since it is less restrictive and therefore will have more options for nominations when/if it comes to it.

Of the three categories currently in the running, I also would like to see historical fiction get the win.

We don't, but there are lots of things we'll never know. I tried to get the two groups merged because I didn't think anyone would really be averse to it, but it is what it is. I don't think it is worth much time debating it because I don't think either category or a merged one really stood a chance of making it to the final categories. Maybe if the club's dynamic changes, but right now probably not.

It's in right now with the last voter.

"War is the continuation of politics by other means." Carl von Clausewitz

I understand taken as a whole package war can be a very interesting topic. Just as an aside I recently read a book you had nominated in a book for the month here recently—Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna by Adam Zamoyski—and gave it a high star ranking (for me) at Goodreads. I did not actually write any sort of review (just too lazy) but I believe that it would be right up your alley. Not only a detailed analysis of the at least temporarily successful attempts to turn back the clock in Europe to before the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and Napoleon but also all the dirt on how the congress was the opportunity for major and minor royalty and nobility from all over Europe come together to 'party hearty' and f_ like bunny rabbits. It would even fit into the War category under consideration here. :D

I wanted a single short story category as well it being one I would most like to see make the final ten. But what is done is done I'd day.

I'm as little more upset that the two categories I first nominated did not make it into the poll as I nominated them:


I notice that the parenthetical modifier for Award Winners (fiction) did. I don't even know at this point if Science (factual not fiction) or History (factual not fiction) will even be among the final selections. If so though it would have been nice to make clear that the first was not to be a second month for Science Fiction and the second was not a chance to make Historical Fiction a category even if the poll said no.

^I think both of those were obvious in meaning based on how they were nominated. I know I didn't take them for anything other than what you wrote. Both based in the non-fiction and not fiction side.

History to me has never included fiction. Anyone suggesting either category can include fiction is gaming the category.