Quote:
Originally Posted by caleb72
Yep - that sounds like it would be a great idea if something like this was to be trialed. But it's just a fun idea.
I know that in some groups I'm a member of with Goodreads I don't know what the theme or even the nomination list is until it's voting time. I rarely participate in those because I tend to favour the Mobileread book clubs, but I did like the idea of not having a huge amount of discussion about the group and about the process month after month. I just got an email telling me it's voting time and I could vote and then read/discuss. I guess that's why I don't mind having a "Tom decides" kind of option.
Overall I think if we can just make things fun in some way that would be an improvement. issybird refers to it as collegiality, but I lack her sophistication and would just say - have a fun time chatting with each other about the book that we've read. If we feel the need to challenge each other on interpretation or perception, we do so respectfully. If we need to express dissatisfaction with a book, we do exactly that - we don't really need to insult books and authors inadvertently demeaning those who enjoy those books/authors. We present what we didn't like and why we didn't like it and that becomes a valuable contribution to the discussion.
There are a few ways in which a book can be discussed, and I think we should embrace them all. If someone is discussing a story in terms of how exciting the plot was and how he/she related to a particular character, this is just as valid as discussing the use of a particular plot device as a metaphor for some kind of societal ill being explored. The wonderful thing about novels for me is that they can be seen from so many perspectives. I remember valuing that Remains of the Day was being explained to me as a portrait of the Japanese people. This never occurred to me at all and I just thought it was an astounding portrait of an English butler that became my favourite read of that year. I really enjoyed reading the other view, but didn't feel like my appreciation was somehow invalidated. I think we should aim for a club where different appreciations of books can be embraced. I don't think anyone should feel sneered at.
This is what I look forward to seeing and experiencing in the book club regardless of what categories are selected for each month, regardless of what the nomination process is, regardless of how a mystery is different from a thriller. I just want to connect with other club members in a fun and non-judgmental way over a book I've just read.
Anyway - just a bit of a blah blah from me. It happens from time to time.  |
Great comments, caleb! I do think you're right about serious negative criticism - it has its place but maybe that's not here in the general club. No matter how mature everyone tries to be, we all can't help but be sensitive sometimes, and with such a diverse group I can see that if among the first posts of a discussion are really negative reactions, it might scare some people off from giving their positive opinion. I mean, I'm not for turning the club into a peaches and cream lovefest where you can't dare to say you didn't like a book and I'm all for honest opinions, but maybe we should shoot for making any negative posts on a book light and respectful (if everyone's up for that, I will try, but I'll state right now that sometimes my typing fingers might get the better of me so I'll have to work at it
). I think that's especially important for a book where a lot of people don't like it or have problems with it or find it mediocre - that has the potential to create a negative atmosphere in the discussion thread that really scares anyone off from posting who actually likes the book. All that said, we have had months where everyone who posts in the discussion thread loves a book and yet it still only gets a few posts.
Other than that, I'm still not sure exactly how we can make this "fun time" happen on a long-term basis, but I think it's a terrific starting point to keep in mind for any new direction we take.