|
View Poll Results: What should our June category be? | |||
Science Fiction | 12 | 46.15% | |
Fantasy | 10 | 38.46% | |
Non-Fiction | 9 | 34.62% | |
Modern Literature (Written within past 10 years.) | 9 | 34.62% | |
Biography/Memoir | 10 | 38.46% | |
Lottery (Version 2—winner provides selection to vote on.) | 8 | 30.77% | |
Free For All | 8 | 30.77% | |
Young Adult | 9 | 34.62% | |
Humor | 7 | 26.92% | |
Award Winners | 14 | 53.85% | |
Classical Literature (Published at least 25 years ago.) | 10 | 38.46% | |
Historical Fiction | 10 | 38.46% | |
MobileRead Authors | 7 | 26.92% | |
Splatterpunk | 3 | 11.54% | |
Indie | 6 | 23.08% | |
Adventure which has nothing to do with travelling | 3 | 11.54% | |
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 26. You may not vote on this poll |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
01-18-2013, 08:59 PM | #16 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
delete post
Last edited by JSWolf; 01-18-2013 at 09:09 PM. |
01-19-2013, 04:47 AM | #17 | |
Close to the Edit!
Posts: 9,797
Karma: 267994408
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"
|
Quote:
|
|
01-19-2013, 07:32 PM | #18 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
|
01-19-2013, 08:57 PM | #19 | |
Indie Advocate
Posts: 2,863
Karma: 18794463
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: Kindle
|
Quote:
|
|
01-19-2013, 09:09 PM | #20 |
Indie Advocate
Posts: 2,863
Karma: 18794463
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: Kindle
|
Award Winners out in front which is nice. I've got a challenge this year to read at least 10 prize winners in 2013.
I've got a suggested reading list of award winners for my own challenge that I would be much obliged if we chose from for our selection. I have Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker Prize, Bram Stoker Award, Nebula Award, Hugo Award, Graoully d'Or, National Book Prize, British Fantasy Award, Edgar Award, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Carnegie Medal in Literature, Miles Franklin Literary Award, Philip K. Dick Award, Gold Dagger Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, World Fantasy Award and Newbery Medal all covered for your convenience. |
01-19-2013, 10:53 PM | #21 | |
Snoozing in the sun
Posts: 10,137
Karma: 115423645
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch
|
Quote:
|
|
01-19-2013, 11:15 PM | #22 | |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Quote:
|
|
01-20-2013, 08:00 AM | #23 |
Close to the Edit!
Posts: 9,797
Karma: 267994408
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"
|
I still think the Man Booker is worth including, though I have some sympathy for your view after Ian McEwan won it for Amsterdam, which was a risible storyline. Very much a political decision, as they couldn't agree between two other preferred books, I believe.
|
01-20-2013, 09:58 AM | #24 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,368
Karma: 26886344
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
|
01-20-2013, 10:08 AM | #25 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Man Booker is maybe the worst major award given. The judges have no idea what comprises a good book an a lot of time they award for reasons beyond the book being worthy.
|
01-20-2013, 10:39 AM | #26 |
o saeclum infacetum
Posts: 20,229
Karma: 222235366
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: New England
Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5
|
I think the Booker is a lot more interesting than the Pulitzer, which is generally a schlockfest. But both are too driven by popularity (Hillary Mantel didn't deserve it for Bring Up the Bodies) and politics--which is why I don't love Awards as a category.
|
01-20-2013, 12:37 PM | #27 | |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,983
Karma: 128903378
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
Quote:
There's a poll on Goodreads for the best covers and up at the top of the list is Twilight. That just goes to prove that a lot of these awards are nothing more then a popularity contest that doesn't take into account the merit of the book. But if awards wins, let's find some out there awards and nominate some out there books just because we can. |
|
01-21-2013, 09:11 AM | #28 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 19,226
Karma: 67780237
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: none
|
Quote:
I've had pretty reasonable success with the Man-Booker prize selections I've read. I can definitely agree with your sentiment that many books are not that enjoyable from prize winners. My wife and I have a joke when we're at the book store that the littel silver and gold circle stickers on books mean guaranteed boring. I did enjoy Paddy Clark, Ha Ha Ha and The White Tiger as winners of the Man-Booker prize. |
|
01-21-2013, 09:16 AM | #29 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 19,226
Karma: 67780237
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: none
|
Quote:
Part of me thinks if Award Winners wins, the group should read the short list for the Pulitzer from last year when no one won. I'm curious to see what I think of the list of books. |
|
01-21-2013, 02:10 PM | #30 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 5,185
Karma: 25133758
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA
Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)
|
Quote:
If those tastes don't match yours, the award is meaningless. The Pulitzer tells me that a book fits some set of qualifications for "literary excellence;" it doesn't tell me I'll enjoy reading it, nor that my life will be improved thereby. The Hugo award tells me that I'll probably enjoy reading the book, regardless of whether it's "well-written" by the standards the Pulitzer team uses. I know I'd probably enjoy any book that's won a Rainbow Award. I might even nominate one. I know that the odds of it getting second-and-thirded would be very low, and the odds of it getting voted in as the selection are beyond negligible--not because MR readers don't trust the quality of the award, but because most of the readers here don't have a strong interest in LGBT-themed books. Likewise, recommendations from the ENnies are unlikely to get selected. I would love the Award Winners category to avoid the larger, well-known awards like Pulitzer and Man Booker, and seek out smaller, oddball awards to say "here's something that you probably have never heard of, and wouldn't normally consider trying, but it did win an award so you know at least someone thinks it's good." And whether or not the books from those awards get selected, we'd be able to discuss them and recommend books that might not come up on other topics. Most of the Rainbow Award books fit under "romance;" some are science fiction; some are mysteries--they could get nominated other months. The ENnie winners are in a niche industry that's hard to define; it often straddles the line between fiction and nonfic. (Is a gaming manual fiction or not?) Still, The Investigator's Guide to Occult London might be an interesting read even to people not interested in the RPG aspects. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
MobileRead Category Selection Nominations for June 2013 | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 82 | 01-18-2013 10:32 AM |
MobileRead May 2013 *Category* Poll | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 55 | 01-13-2013 07:07 AM |
MobileRead April 2013 *Category* Poll | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 10 | 12-31-2012 10:31 AM |
MobileRead MARCH 2013 *Category* Poll | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 31 | 12-15-2012 10:48 AM |
MobileRead February 2013 *Category* Poll | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 52 | 12-03-2012 08:02 AM |