All About Books discussion

Jenny - can't find anything, no. Am now cross!!

I think the answer is that in recent years making books available in accessible formats has improved a lot. Back in 1985 you'd be able to get a Man Booker prizewinner in Braille or "talking book" just for Blind people, but nothing else. Current winners automatically get into Large Print, Audio etc.

I am still puzzled at why this is only in German though, since it was originally written in English!

Me too honestly. Also because I had never heard of it before a friend of mine gave it to me. It's not like it's ever been a great success here or anything.

Mmmm. Maybe if we all go to amazon and press the 'I want to read this book on kindle' button they'll make it in time for November? How many requests do you think it needs before they consider? ;)

Done!

It looks complicated

Jean, did it as well!

@Laura, it isn't a hard read, it's just that the subject is a bit heavy, but it's a beautiful book.

Holly and I are hoping to read Paradise Lost together, starting somewhere around late November/early December. Anyone want to join us?

Faye wrote: "Holly and I are hoping to read Paradise Lost together, starting somewhere around late November/early December. Anyone want to join us?"

Do you know how many pages this is, Faye. I'm interested but have a few other commitments. If I get through them by the end of November, I'd like to join you.

Faye wrote: "Holly and I are hoping to read Paradise Lost together, starting somewhere around late November/early December. Anyone want to join us?"

I so want to, but I am not sure I'll have the time. I'll see how it goes!

It's going to be hard to fit it in for me too, but I might as well give it a go! Looks like I'll be reading in all my spare time this month. I'm now really glad I've stopped watching my TV shows!

Do you want to make a thread for it now? Or later?

Why don't you make a thread for it now, that way other people may consider joining in. Are you ok doing that or would you like me to?

I can do it if you want :)

Gill wrote: "Faye wrote: "Holly and I are hoping to read Paradise Lost together, starting somewhere around late November/early December. Anyone want to join us?"

Do you know how many pages this is, Faye. I'm i..."

My copy is 465 pages, but half of that is notes. I'm using the Dover Thrift Edition. :)

Holly wrote: "I can do it if you want :)"

Please. :)

I'm using the Collins Classics version, with Paradise Lost/Paradise Regained combined. I'm unsure how many pages it is, but I'll check in a bit!

I've just made the readalong thread :)

I'm going to plan a readalong in 2014 after I get done with my city of bones one in December, but I don't know what book to do yet. I got a bunch on my tbr list and a few on my tablet to read as well. i'd like to read the Child thief by Brom but I might get that one early from the overdrive ebooks library. I'll figure something out.

Amber wrote: "I'm going to plan a readalong in 2014 after I get done with my city of bones one in December, but I don't know what book to do yet. I got a bunch on my tbr list and a few on my tablet to read as we..."

The Child Thief does looks really interesting, I wouldn't mind squeezing it in somewhere.

I'm #2 on the holds list on the overdrive ebooks library system Alannah so will probably get that one soon. if you want to do a readalong for The Child Thief, we can, Alannah. I'm reading Through the Zombie Glassright now and it is a pretty good read so I hope to read The Child Thiefnext. I get an email from them letting me know when it is ready to pick up on the website. Last time I saw it at a bookstore, it was $20 so I'm glad my library had an ebook copy. So I'll prob get it before our city of bones readalong in December. Just got to stay patient. It's a modern retelling of Peter Pan anyway.

Amber wrote: "I'm #2 on the holds list on the overdrive ebooks library system Alannah so will probably get that one soon. if you want to do a readalong for The Child Thief, we can, Alannah. I'm reading Through t..."

Ah, cool. Didn't even notice that. Let me know as you get it and I can get it on my kindle.

Okay awesome! I'll let you know as soon as I get it then Alannah. ^_^ I'm excited for our City of Bones readalong though.

Amber wrote: "Okay awesome! I'll let you know as soon as I get it then Alannah. ^_^ I'm excited for our City of Bones readalong though."

Me too, I am hearing loads of great things about it.

^_^ My Poe readalong went so well that many of the ladies who did it with me are continuing their Poe reading through Winter so I'm glad I did that readalong because it inspired a few of the participants to read more Poe. I hope our City of Bones readalong goes well too and The Child Thief when I get it.

If I really enjoy The City of Bones, I plan to finish the series over the Christmas break.

Okay awesome, If I like it too, I'll get the next one and read it probably in January. I just hope my library will have City of Bones ready to borrow in December. I'll need to place a hold on it probably after Thanksgiving or beginning of December since we won't be doing the readalong until the 14th.

I'm user 1 of 1 on the waiting list on the overdrives ebooks library for The Child Thiefby Brom so I'll get the email to pick it up soon Alannah. Let me know if you want to do the readalong soon because I'll be getting it shortly this month. Just got to wait on the email. I'll be next on the holds list to get it. I'm almost done with Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter so we can do The Child Thief next but it is a pretty good read.

Faye wrote: "Holly and I are hoping to read Paradise Lost together, starting somewhere around late November/early December. Anyone want to join us?"

I would love to join you! inbox me the date for staring and ill make sure i have my copy by then :) i was running out of things to read and i love the idea of reading with other people. makes discussing the books easier and more fun knowing that people will actually know what you're talking about!

Amber wrote: "Faye wrote: "Holly and I are hoping to read Paradise Lost together, starting somewhere around late November/early December. Anyone want to join us?"

I would love to join you! inbox me the date fo..."

That's great, Amber! We haven't settled on a start date yet, but we'll be sure to let you know when we do. Come join us in the Paradise Lost thread when you get a chance. We're already talking a bit about the prologue and discussing some facts about Milton's life. :)

Amber wrote: "So for our City of Bones readalong in December it'll be me, Alannah, LauraT, Becca, Sigourney, and Melissa so far. Wow this is going to be so much fun! :-) Is this correct u guys? I'll write it d..."

I'd love to join in on this if I can Amber? Are you starting early or late December?

Hey Rebecca, That'll be great! We won't be starting until December 14th through the 20th because I have to do Bethlehem Marketplace at Church the weekend before and hope to get the book at my library by then but feel free to join in with us. I won't post the thread in the readalongs section until the 1st of the month so you have plenty of time to get the book before we start our City of Bones readalong.

That actually sounds perfect for me as it is part of an A-Z challenge that I am doing with another group. So I have two books to read before then (and a few others planned too!)

Do you have schedules for read along's? For example, would you say read chapters 1-4 in the first week, 5-9 in the second week etc? Or does everyone read completely at their own pace?

Awesome Rebecca! I hope you have fun with them all. I'm reading Through the Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter right now which is pretty good. I think everyone can read City of Bones at their own pace and read it as we go along. I'm probably going to do a readalong of The Child Thiefby Brom next since I'll be getting it soon from the overdrive ebooks library from my local library. If I do a Readalong of the Child Thief, then City of Bones will be my third readalong here. My first one I hosted was the Edgar Allan Poe readalong I did last month that went pretty well. I was nervous when I did it though.

I haven't participated in any readalongs in this group yet as I only joined recently.
But I have done buddy reads in a different group, which are the same thing. Some people prefer a schedule, others don't. I have hosted one of each. But I preferred the scheduled one to be honest. I can see why people don't though - Not everyone can read at the same pace. I think it only works in very specific circumstances. Like when no one else has any reading and it is a short book for example.

We don't tend to use schedules in this group, I think everybody has different reading rates and different amounts of books to get through. We are usually very good at removing spoilers though and if you did want to organised a scheduled readalong of a book you want to read I think people would be happy to join. I know I would

Like when I did the Poe readalong, we did only the short stories and did it in twelve days and then spent the last three of them on the novel of Fall and the house of Usher and other tales which was really fun. Doing the poe Readalong, I inspired those who participated with me to read more Poe through the rest of this year. Readalongs are fun. Definitely host one here sometime Rebecca.I am going to do two more this year and then may do one next year but we'll see what happens. My City of Bones readalong will be bigger than my Poe one though. I planned that one in August or September so hopefully everyone will still participate.

Heather wrote: "We don't tend to use schedules in this group, I think everybody has different reading rates and different amounts of books to get through. We are usually very good at removing spoilers though and i..."

I know, it seems that some groups love them and others don't so much.
My other group splits 50/50-ish. Like I said, I personally prefer them because it adds some sence of organisation and cohesion to comments. Rather than several people discussing the very end, and others the first chapter, and others mid way. It's nice to see how people feel about the book at specific points. I think so any way.
That would be lovely, I will probably be a member of the group a little longer before I start hosting readalongs but I am excited to do one soon. Hopefully I can find something lots of people have on their TBR pile :)

Heather wrote: "We don't tend to use schedules in this group, I think everybody has different reading rates and different amounts of books to get through. We are usually very good at removing spoilers though and i..."

I will definitely consider it. For next year perhaps as my reading schedule is pretty busy until then!

That sounds really good, I am very much looking forward to reading City of Bones with so many people :)

Awesome Rebecca and welcome to the all about books book club too! ^_^ Feel free to add me as a friend too.

Thanks very much Amber, that is very sweet. I am excited to join this group - It looks great!

Something I've noticed with some other groups is that they split the thread eg. chapters 1-3, chapters 4-6 etc. This tends to put me off with most books as I wouldn't want to keep hopping over to another thread. Spoilers seem to be the best solution, providing everybody remembers.

But what do you think?

I haven't seen that before Jean. I can see the theory that it helps prevent spoilers the people don't really consider spoilers. And it would definietly help to get an idea of how people feel/think/respond to the book at a certain point. I.E at the end of chapter one in comparison to chapter 10. However, I do think that the splitting of threads must make it difficult to follow discussion, especially if it is a particularly long book!

I think I will try hosting one next year where there is a schedule for chapters in a set week and see if people like it. I certainly prefer it, but I would be interested to know how other people feel about it too.

Hi amber...can I join the city of bones read along?

Yeah katy, feel free to. It's not until the 14-20th of december anyway so you'll have plenty of time to get the book. I'm not posting the thread in the readalongs section until the first anyway. :-) should be fun.

Jean wrote: "Something I've noticed with some other groups is that they split the thread eg. chapters 1-3, chapters 4-6 etc. This tends to put me off with most books as I wouldn't want to keep hopping over to a..."

Well, it depends of the book. Last year I have read War and Peace with another group and with such a book it is necessary to split in chapters.
Other times, with shorter books, there are no rules and we used spoiler-tags or at the beginning of the message we wrote "I am at chapter 5" for example; in this way people who were behind didn't read that post.

dely wrote: "Jean wrote: "Something I've noticed with some other groups is that they split the thread eg. chapters 1-3, chapters 4-6 etc. This tends to put me off with most books as I wouldn't want to keep hopp..."

I agree: sometimes splitting short books is preposterous! It's better a comment at the end and writing along the reading impressions and quotes, hiding spoilers. When on the other hand the book is very long - as War and Peace - I find it better to divide chapters and comments ...

Amber wrote: "Yeah katy, feel free to. It's not until the 14-20th of december anyway so you'll have plenty of time to get the book. I'm not posting the thread in the readalongs section until the first anyway. :-..."

When are you putting the thread up?

Yes, "War and Peace" is one of the exceptions, I agree. In fact it would apply (in my view) to any of the longer classics which would typically be published in 2 volumes. Not, though for shorter novels which are the norm.

After all, when we write reviews we have read the entire novel, but some people reading the review will not have heard of the book, so we hide "the juicy bits" under spoilers.

The Daphne du Maurier readalong is still up for new nominations, by the way. I'll collate the suggestions on 15th, so we can vote after that.

Hey allanah, I'm going to post the thread for city of bones december 1st so it'll give everyone time to get the book before we start on the 14th of that month.

Ok. I don't have a definite date but I might start when I get back home for Christmas but I haven't booked my flights yet so it's all a bit up in the air.

Okay cool. I am still waiting patiently for the child thief too. I hope to get it soon. They are going to send me an email when it becomes available to pick up at the ebooks library.

Really looking forward to that one.

Me too but will be patient. I'll let you know when I get it but will only have it for two weeks when I do. Got to find something else to read while I wait. :-)