MobileRead Administration: New years reading categories - Page 14

GA Russell · 05-31-2011, 12:12 PM

I believe that Jon is on to something, but is muddying the water by arguing what should be called a "classic".

I would support having a month dedicated to a work of a living author which the nominator believes will be read and enjoyed 100 years from today.

I will refrain from giving that concept a name, so as to avoid muddying the water myself!

sun surfer · 05-31-2011, 12:33 PM

I like the categories the way they are now.

I like two months of classics and don't see a need to define "classic"; we've done well enough without a definition already.

JSWolf · 06-01-2011, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I think "classic" should have a definition; potentially "public domain" or "would be public domain under the rules it was first published under." I'm not sure it's a classic if there's no evidence people care to read it 50 years later. (I'm sure the Harry Potter books will be marked as a noteworthy cultural phenomenon in another 50 years; I'm not sure people will still be pushing them at kids as Important Literature.)

The problem with classic is that it doesn't work for all books for everyone. What some say are classics, others say no they are not. A lot of classics don't hold up and should not be labeled as such. But that's where the problem comes in. I do think as a category, that's one we could dump without losing anything. Now a better way to do it (IMHO), it to change from classic to public domain. But if we do that, it should be public domain world wide.

Even if Harry Potter is not said to be classic or literature, it's still important as it got kids, adults, and families reading. It helped bring books back to people who were not reading.

Quote:

Another potential category is "new books"--first published within the last 3 years. Or within the last year.

I like this idea. It mean we can have at least one month with a guarantee of a modern book.

JSWolf · 06-01-2011, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I like the categories the way they are now.

I like two months of classics and don't see a need to define "classic"; we've done well enough without a definition already.

Classic is supposed to be a book that holds up well enough over time. Problem is, that's not true for everyone. So what you may think is classic, may not. It's a subjective category, not an objective one. So in that case, it doesn't work well.

Two months of a category like this is not a good idea. One moth maybe, but two? No way. There is no other duplication of categories so I see no reason not to change December to a category not already used. There should be one I think we can agree enough on to change December.

pilotbob · 06-01-2011, 11:31 AM

I think it was decided that all Young Adult books fall into one of the other genres.

I have no problem revamping the months... perhaps we should replace one of the classic months with Romance since they are one of the most widely read genres.

Who doesn't love romance... ??

I do agree we haven't had any problem choosing classics. Only one or two people constantly questioning which books belong to that genre. I've been pretty lax with nominations... if 3 people nominate it then it has gone on the list. About the only fast rule we have been following is it must be available as a legal ebook somewhere.

Perhaps we should change one of the months to "Modern Classics."

BOb

orlok · 06-01-2011, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I have no problem revamping the months... perhaps we should replace one of the classic months with Romance since they are one of the most widely read genres.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Perhaps we should change one of the months to "Modern Classics."

BOb

JSWolf · 06-03-2011, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I think it was decided that all Young Adult books fall into one of the other genres.

I have no problem revamping the months... perhaps we should replace one of the classic months with Romance since they are one of the most widely read genres.

Who doesn't love romance... ??

I do agree we haven't had any problem choosing classics. Only one or two people constantly questioning which books belong to that genre. I've been pretty lax with nominations... if 3 people nominate it then it has gone on the list. About the only fast rule we have been following is it must be available as a legal ebook somewhere.

Perhaps we should change one of the months to "Modern Classics."

BOb

I'm not sure what to change December's category to, but the one thing I think is that we should not be duplicating an already used category.

How about None of the Above for December?

ATDrake · 06-03-2011, 10:54 PM

Why not be perverse and pick specific arbitrary required elements instead of generic category themes?

How about a month with books that include talking trees?

This could span YA (the trees are an imaginary friend!), suspense/thriller (the trees are a hallucination brought on by poisoning!), cozy mystery (the trees are a tacky 60s gift product being sold in the amateur sleuth's antiques shop), fantasy (the trees are magical!), science fiction (the trees are alien!), even literary fiction (dreams sequences; meta about writers thinking up scenarios of what to write in their next book), etc.

The only problem is that it may be hard to dig up a sufficent pool of quality candidates containing the required thing, but one can always think of it as a challenge. Or at least a way to expand one's list of quote-unquote "interesting" books to try, depending on how outré the theme element is.

WT Sharpe · 06-03-2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATDrake

...How about a month with books that include talking trees?...

I nominate The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

issybird · 06-03-2011, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATDrake

How about a month with books that include talking trees?

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I nominate The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

I nominate The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

ATDrake · 06-03-2011, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I nominate The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I nominate The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Awesomeness.

I'm going to ponder which one of Diane Duane's books to nominate for talking trees. She loves this trope. Probably So You Want to Be A Wizard since it's relatively low cost and international readers can get it DRM-free.

And I think there's a Tintin album where he overhears voices coming from a tree that turns out to be the entrance to a secret hideout.

JSWolf · 06-05-2011, 02:34 PM

I nominate the Old Testament as it has a talking burning bush.

JSWolf · 06-10-2011, 10:29 PM

So have we decided to drop the 2nd classic for a different category?

benham · 06-10-2011, 11:04 PM

And don't forget the talking serpent as well as the talking donkey.

JSWolf · 06-12-2011, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benham

And don't forget the talking serpent as well as the talking donkey.

And this has to do with the topic how?

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05-31-2011, 12:12 PM	#196
GA Russell Ticats win 4th straight Posts: 7,694 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	I believe that Jon is on to something, but is muddying the water by arguing what should be called a "classic". I would support having a month dedicated to a work of a living author which the nominator believes will be read and enjoyed 100 years from today. I will refrain from giving that concept a name, so as to avoid muddying the water myself!

05-31-2011, 12:33 PM	#197
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44667380 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I like the categories the way they are now. I like two months of classics and don't see a need to define "classic"; we've done well enough without a definition already.

06-01-2011, 11:31 AM	#200
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	I think it was decided that all Young Adult books fall into one of the other genres. I have no problem revamping the months... perhaps we should replace one of the classic months with Romance since they are one of the most widely read genres. Who doesn't love romance... ?? I do agree we haven't had any problem choosing classics. Only one or two people constantly questioning which books belong to that genre. I've been pretty lax with nominations... if 3 people nominate it then it has gone on the list. About the only fast rule we have been following is it must be available as a legal ebook somewhere. Perhaps we should change one of the months to "Modern Classics." BOb

06-03-2011, 10:54 PM	#203
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Why not be perverse and pick specific arbitrary required elements instead of generic category themes? How about a month with books that include talking trees? This could span YA (the trees are an imaginary friend!), suspense/thriller (the trees are a hallucination brought on by poisoning!), cozy mystery (the trees are a tacky 60s gift product being sold in the amateur sleuth's antiques shop), fantasy (the trees are magical!), science fiction (the trees are alien!), even literary fiction (dreams sequences; meta about writers thinking up scenarios of what to write in their next book), etc. The only problem is that it may be hard to dig up a sufficent pool of quality candidates containing the required thing, but one can always think of it as a challenge. Or at least a way to expand one's list of quote-unquote "interesting" books to try, depending on how outré the theme element is.

06-05-2011, 02:34 PM	#207
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,796 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I nominate the Old Testament as it has a talking burning bush.

06-10-2011, 10:29 PM	#208
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,796 Karma: 146391129 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	So have we decided to drop the 2nd classic for a different category?

06-10-2011, 11:04 PM	#209
benham Guru Posts: 882 Karma: 5565888 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Townsend, WI Device: Palm TX, PRS-505 (BLUE)	And don't forget the talking serpent as well as the talking donkey.