And Then There Were ?… The future of the book club here

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by John F

Sure. It was a figure of speech. Maybe next time use a few "I"s in your post so it doesn't sound like you are stating a universal truth.

If you quite enjoyed it, as I did, why not suggest we bring it back without the quibbling.

No thanks. BTDT. Not interested in any highly formal club here.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by John F

Let's use the last MRBC list, starting with the current month.

This is the list from the MRBC.

January: Second Chance
February: Mystery
March: Patricia Clarke Memorial Library
April: Award Winners (Fiction)
May: Science Fiction
June: Science
July: Free-For-All
August: Thriller, Suspense & Crime
September: Classics
October: Humor
November: History
December: Fantasy

This is what I propose for the rest of the year.

May: Science Fiction
June: Historical Fiction
July: Free-For-All
August: Mystery
September: Patricia Clarke Memorial Library
October: Non-Fiction
November: Fiction
December: Fantasy

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by John F

why not suggest we bring it back without the quibbling.

That's what a lot of the changes were for in the NLBC. Most of the first section of rules was added to the NLBC just for this reason. Getting away from quibbling is a pipe dream apparently as evidenced in this thread and in the Classics thread.

Spoiler:

The entire point of this section of rules from the NLBC was to avoid squabbling. It worked for a good time and we had some great discussions for over two years. Unfortunately, I know both issybird and CRussel both had to deal with issues related to this on nearly a monthly basis. I wish it had worked better but that's what it is.

General:

• We want the book club to be a friendly and positive forum for everyone who would like to participate. With that in mind, all posts must meet the MR guidelines and should follow these additional guidelines for the book club:
  • No wrangling about nominations, unless a book is clearly ineligible (see eligibility requirements) all nominations are accepted. That does not mean all nominations will be seconded/thirded.
  • Electioneering is fine but please keep it civil and respectful. Please avoid disparaging a nomination and judgmental words in general. No negative campaigning.
• Anything directly related to the contents of the book should be held and posted in the Discussion Thread when it is available.
  • Please keep specific comments on the book out of the nomination and voting threads unless directly related to those activities.
• Discussion related to background information, such as author information or events that may have shaped the author's writing, may go in the voting thread after the book is selected but prior to the discussion thread.
  • Discussion of availability, different formats, additional locations to acquire the book, and temporary deals, etc. can go in the voting thread.

The other change that was made was the "themes" versus "genres". The main reason for this change was because many of us were sick and tired of people arguing what a "classic" is or whether or not a book is a "mystery" or a "thriller" or "fantasy" vs "science fiction" or .... It became very tiring for many of us. Calling the categories "themes" let us (mostly) bypass that type of quibbling.

If you look at the rest of the rules, you'll see that they are all about how the club runs (votes, nominations, etc.) with the exception of 2 items:

[*]Books are not eligible if they have been fully nominated in the last 6 months.

Which was a holdover from a particular quibbling issue in the MRBC.

And:

[*]Anyone may vote but please refrain from voting if you are not willing to participate regardless of what book wins.

Which was also an issue of contention from the MRBC.

[JSWolf]

Would it be better to have genres and topics? We can do that. I think that might mix it up some.

[hildea]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is what I propose for the rest of the year.

May: Science Fiction
June: Historical Fiction
July: Free-For-All
August: Mystery
September: Patricia Clarke Memorial Library
October: Non-Fiction
November: Fiction
December: Fantasy

OK by me. Is the November "Fiction" all genres except those which already have their own month, or is it defined more narrowly?

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Would it be better to have genres and topics? We can do that. I think that might mix it up some.

The topics from New Leaf sounded fun, so I'm all for that.


If the main problem with the previous clubs were time consuming nomination & voting, I guess that should be simplified? For instance one suggestion per person, and all suggestions end up in the poll (ie. no need to second a nomination)?

Originally Posted by gmw

Hmm... I still think the reading buddy thing best suits the diverse range of preferences being stated.

Yes, but there's nothing preventing anyone from starting a buddy read thread as well

[gmw]

Originally Posted by hildea

[...] If the main problem with the previous clubs were time consuming nomination & voting, I guess that should be simplified? For instance one suggestion per person, and all suggestions end up in the poll (ie. no need to second a nomination)?[...]

I appreciate the big *if* that I highlighted above, because the selection and nomination process - when I have been able to find time for it - was actually a big part of the enjoyment for me, and often quite productive in terms of turning up new reads (both what I found for myself when researching the themes, and what I found when investigating other people's nominations - or even just books other people mentioned but did not nominate for one reason or another).

The main prompt for me joining the club (right at the end of the MRBC as it turns out, but that was just coincidence) was to try and shake myself out of a reading rut and make myself look at more new stuff (I'd gotten quite addicted to re-reading because there's nothing quite like comfort food), so the idea of bypassing or abbreviating the nomination process doesn't sit that well with me (even though I have admitted not having the time for it right now). I wanted to highlight with this post that not everyone finds nomination to be a PITA, quite the reverse.

That said, and as I mentioned earlier, I do also consider the sharing of interpretations to be a critical part of the club. I remember some strong conversations in the NLBC (eg: about whether the protagonist jumped or whether she was pushed) that I thought that were really interesting, both the different interpretations and the strength of feeling for them. And for all the compliments I've been offering the Literary club, the discussions there have been almost too cursory/polite for my tastes, making the book selection the biggest part of the interest for me ... but maybe I should not have admitted that.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hildea

OK by me. Is the November "Fiction" all genres except those which already have their own month, or is it defined more narrowly?

Fiction would be plain fiction.

The topics from New Leaf sounded fun, so I'm all for that.

If the main problem with the previous clubs were time consuming nomination & voting, I guess that should be simplified? For instance one suggestion per person, and all suggestions end up in the poll (ie. no need to second a nomination)?

We can do some themes as well if most are for it. The nomination/voting will be made simpler. How does two nominations and two nods to other nominations sound?

We'll also need a name for this book club. How about The Best Mobileread Book Club Ever?

[John F]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is the list from the MRBC.

January: Second Chance
February: Mystery
March: Patricia Clarke Memorial Library
April: Award Winners (Fiction)
May: Science Fiction
June: Science
July: Free-For-All
August: Thriller, Suspense & Crime
September: Classics
October: Humor
November: History
December: Fantasy

This is what I propose for the rest of the year.

May: Science Fiction
June: Historical Fiction
July: Free-For-All
August: Mystery
September: Patricia Clarke Memorial Library
October: Non-Fiction
November: Fiction
December: Fantasy

Fine by me.

[John F]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

... The nomination/voting will be made simpler. How does two nominations and two nods to other nominations sound?

...

I say we keep the old nominations (3 and a week) and polling. Having three helps with the issue of nominations and polling decides issues (like does a book fit in a genre).

[John F]

Originally Posted by gmw

I appreciate the big *if* that I highlighted above, because the selection and nomination process - when I have been able to find time for it - was actually a big part of the enjoyment for me, and often quite productive in terms of turning up new reads (both what I found for myself when researching the themes, and what I found when investigating other people's nominations - or even just books other people mentioned but did not nominate for one reason or another).

The main prompt for me joining the club (right at the end of the MRBC as it turns out, but that was just coincidence) was to try and shake myself out of a reading rut and make myself look at more new stuff (I'd gotten quite addicted to re-reading because there's nothing quite like comfort food), so the idea of bypassing or abbreviating the nomination process doesn't sit that well with me (even though I have admitted not having the time for it right now). I wanted to highlight with this post that not everyone finds nomination to be a PITA, quite the reverse.

I strongly agree.

... That said, and as I mentioned earlier, I do also consider the sharing of interpretations to be a critical part of the club. ...

For myself, I read the discussions and find them interesting, but I usually wouldn't/won't participate.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

We'll also need a name for this book club. How about The Best Mobileread Book Club Ever?

If you decide to go with a new name whether than revive the old MRBC which also would be an option, I’d be happy to create a tag for it. Drop me a line.

[John F]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

...

We'll also need a name for this book club. How about The Best Mobileread Book Club Ever?

I say we keep the old name or call it "The New Mobileread Book Club". And the one after this one can be "The New and Improved Mobile Read Book Club".

[hildea]

I suggest starting up with something, and then adjusting as we go. So whoever's willing to do the work of starting a thread/administering the nominations (JSWolf?) can choose the mechanics of nominating and voting, and then we try whatever they decide when picking the book for May. If that doesn't work out for whatever reason, we can adjust for the next vote.

Similar with genres/topics: I think there are no objections to science fiction for May? so we can start there, and mix up themes with genres later.

I don't have any strong opinions on name, keeping the old one is fine for me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by hildea

I suggest starting up with something, and then adjusting as we go. So whoever's willing to do the work of starting a thread/administering the nominations (JSWolf?) can choose the mechanics of nominating and voting, and then we try whatever they decide when picking the book for May. If that doesn't work out for whatever reason, we can adjust for the next vote.

Similar with genres/topics: I think there are no objections to science fiction for May? so we can start there, and mix up themes with genres later.

I don't have any strong opinions on name, keeping the old one is fine for me.

That sounds like good idea to adjust if need be. I don't mind taking charge with others helping.

If nobody has any objection, we can call it the New MRBC. If that is OK for the title, I'll request the prefix and we can begin from there.

[JSWolf]

Anyone have a problem if we start the New MRBC on this weekend?

Going by the list we have, May is science fiction. We will start the nominations as soon as the thread is started.