Reading 1001 discussion

We are in the process of getting ready for 2018 and all those new opportunities to make more lists, join challenges and plan our reading.

Year long Read:
Water Margin, Volume 1
Water Margin, Volume 2, by Shi Nai'an


Quarterly or Seasonal Reads: we will start voting for these after we are done voting for DEC BOTM. I will post books after we are done voting for DEC BOTM
1Q, Jan-March Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. HOST: Diane (Cafe mom)
2Q: April-June The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas HOST: Kelly
3Q: July-September The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell (random selection)
4Q: Oct to December Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. HOST: Dianne.

Here is the 2018 slate of authors by month for 2018 BOTM
January: Kesey to LaGuin. Voting starts around Nov 15
February: White to Zweig
March: Perec to Rolfe
April: Neale-Hurston to Pelvin
May: Rosa to Schlink
June: Thurber to Verne
July: Schnitzler to Soseki
August: Mann to Michaels
September: Miller to Nashe
October: Leavett to Mankell
November: Spark to Thornberg
December: Vesaas to Wharton.

Looks like a good year!

Kristel you are so organized;)

Quarterly reads are posted; anyone interested in hosting one of these?

Kristel wrote: "Quarterly reads are posted; anyone interested in hosting one of these?"

Nice, I think I may have all of these on my TBR shelf.

I am looking forward to next year's quarterly reads, but have a lot to finish this year first. I have digressed into an Elena Ferrante which I am thoroughly enjoying. I have delayed reading her, thinking I should catch up 1001 books first but finally succumbed!

We have one volunteer to host a quarterly discussion. Anyone else? Either quarterly or annual are available for hosting.

With the exception of Q1 I have read all of the quarterly reads, nice easy year for me lol

Book wrote: "With the exception of Q1 I have read all of the quarterly reads, nice easy year for me lol"

Lucky you, I only have 4Q that I’ve read but that should be a good quarter to have some freed up time for other reads.

Kristel I will host one. I can try Blonde.

Thanks Diane, that’s great!

Announcing upcoming events and changes coming in 2018.

1. Every month we vote for BOTM around the middle of the month (15th). We vote for one book from a list that is alphabetized and we go through the list every 2 years. We randomize a little just to give some variety to how the books show up in order.
Every one gets one free vote but we also earn participation points. These can be earned by

2. * responding to a fast point question of the week, those can be found in Random Thoughts & Discussion

3. *hosting a book of the month, quarterly or annual discussion will earn you five participation points for each month, so 5 for BOTM, 15 for Quarterly and 60 for yearly books.

4. * Reading and discussing a BOTM (we have 2 of those) one is chosen by randomizer. Follow this link for more information of ways to earn points; https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

5. * generating a random list will get you 5 participation points, no other points will be earned in 2018 from reading books from your randomizer list.

6. Reading and reviewing any 1001 book during the year will get you 1 point (either from your random list or any book in general).

7. *You will need to start your own Challenge thread and keep track of points earned. Participation points will start over in 2018 but you can roll over 5 points at the start of the year. Do not subtract your used points. No need to do that as Bookworm will do that on the spread sheet. You will check the spreadsheet for you available voting points. BW also posts those available points when it is time to vote.

8. In 2018 we will do the TBR challenge and the 1001 Ways to Diversify Challenge. These will be announced on December 10th by Jen.

9. Auction: Beginning December 20th there will be an auction so that you can use those hard earned participation points. Be looking for more information on that.

I have to say I’m rather disappointed by these changes. I get that you would like to have more interaction, but for a group dedicated to reading from the 1001 list I would expect that reading AND reviewing any book on the list would get you at least as much points as answering a question.

Sushicat wrote: "I have to say I’m rather disappointed by these changes. I get that you would like to have more interaction, but for a group dedicated to reading from the 1001 list I would expect that reading AND r..."

I can certainly understand that. We do want to encourage people to read from their random lists and to read on their own too. We will be adding more challenges (both 2 annual challenges and seasonal challenge) that will allow readers to broaden their list reading and get points for reading and reviewing books on the lists - not answering questions.

We'd like to give it a shot and try it out for a while but if everyone hates it, we can go back to giving points for randomized lists. I suspect that you'll find the other things we're adding will add to your experience in a positive way and one of the annual challenges will basically substitute for the change in randomized list points -- allowing you to get points for reading list books and reviewing them.

Sushicat wrote: "I have to say I’m rather disappointed by these changes. I get that you would like to have more interaction, but for a group dedicated to reading from the 1001 list I would expect that reading AND r..."

I'll also add that of the 28 randomized lists that were generated this year 20 people read 0 books from their lists, 5 read only 1, and the rest read more. So really for most people, it won't really impact their points at all. They will probably get more points with the new challenges.

Jen wrote: "Sushicat wrote: "I have to say I’m rather disappointed by these changes. I get that you would like to have more interaction, but for a group dedicated to reading from the 1001 list I would expect t..."

To add to Jen’s response.
The randomized list will generate 5 participation points for those that want to continue with reading toward their personal challenge of reading the list. One of the challenges next year is really similar to the randomized list. The one main difference is that you get to feed your randomizer with books that you actually have on hand or really want to read and in the end it will probably generate more points than the older model. Lets give it a try, we can always go back.
I once again blame GR format for making it harder to read and comment on people’s reviews but I also have to take responsibility for not getting here enough and reading other’s book reviews.

The comment I made did not refer only to the random list. You also scraped the points for reading any book on the list.

The TBR challenge doesn’t work for me. I’m a mood reader. Tell me I have to read one book within the next month is a 99.9% guarantee I will not read that book, even if it comes off a list I generated myself. I can read off a short list or a particular book if the time line is flexible. With the current format I read less BOTMs since I have no incentive if I’m running late.

What it boils down for me is you have reduced the choices of how to get participation points significantly and with it the incentive to read books off the list and participate in the group. I just thought I’d let you know rather than just disappear on you.

I agree with Sushicat's comments. Once the points were taken from the Other 1001 books, I stopped posting reviews. That one point was enough incentive to take the time to read and review a book, but now I have no incentive to do so for no points when I can receive a point for taking a minute to answer a question each week. For the same reason, I also doubt I will participate in the Random Reading challenge now either (I was one of the three that participated with more than one book).

I also feel that I may be a large part of the reason that the points have shifted away from reading the books to other things, such as hosting and participating in discussions. I, too, would like to let you know rather than just disappear on you.

Thanks for the feedback Sushicat and Diane. We are discussing behind the scenes amongst the moderators and will fully respond to these concerns soon. We appreciate your responses.

We will add back in 1 participation point for reading and reviewing any book from the 1001 list. We appreciate your speaking up.

So wait—there will NOT be randomized lists next year? This has turned out to be my favorite part of the group. I got my list in September (when I joined) and am now halfway through my second randomized book (for the wish list). And I am loving it! I too am a mood reader and struggle with scheduled reading. I have both Dec group reads and haven’t started either.

Thank you for taking our feedback into account.

Dree wrote: "So wait—there will NOT be randomized lists next year? This has turned out to be my favorite part of the group. I got my list in September (when I joined) and am now halfway through my second random..."

There will be randomized lists next year. We are not getting rid of them just changed point system. You can request your new list soon for 2018

Hi Dree I will be spinning new randomised lists tomorrow evening I am looking forward to seeing what comes up :)

I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken.

Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken."

Wonderful! I don’t think it’s taken but I’ll let Kristel confirm. We love it that you are jumping right in and volunteering to moderate one!

Jen wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken."

Wonderful! I don’t think it’s taken but I’ll let Kristel confirm. We love it th..."

Thanks. I will wait to hear. And then I guess I need to know a little about what it means to be the host. :)

Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken."

Kelly wrote: "Jen wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken."

Wonderful! I don’t think it’s taken but I’ll let Kristel confirm. W..."

Kelly, it is yours. No one has requested it yet. I will put you down for it. I am looking forward to reading Dumas. Never read anything by him.

Kristel wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken."

Kelly wrote: "Jen wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in ..."

Thank you. Is there any guidance on how to host?

Kelly wrote: "Kristel wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would be interested in hosting The Count of Monte Cristo if that isn't already taken."

Kelly wrote: "Jen wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I am newer, but would b..."

It’s really up to you how you want to do it. Some people post questions at the beginning then guide discussion, others post questions periodically to start/continue discussion. You can create a reading schedule them discuss weekly sections. Really it’s up to how you want to do it. Take a look at our past discussions and you’ll get an idea of the different styles

Diane wrote: "I agree with Sushicat's comments. Once the points were taken from the Other 1001 books, I stopped posting reviews. That one point was enough incentive to take the time to read and review a book, bu..."

I agree with Diane and Sushicat. I have felt that way about many of the changes the last few months, though my views were not as welcomed as Diane and Sushicat's were. I was planning to continue to stay with the group and participate in discussions from time to time when I read something the group was reading, but the addition of a "Diversity Challenge" has convinced me it is time to leave. SJW politics makes so much of life unpleasant, I refuse to allow it to intrude into my reading.

I was going to just walk away, but Diane's comment about not just disappearing struck a nerve. So I wanted to say farewell to you all. I have very much enjoyed our discussions over the years and I will miss them. FWIW, I will still be reading Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh) next year - feel free to PM me if anyone would like to discuss it. And you can always find me at the Catholic Book Club.

Best of luck, and many years of happy reading, to you all,

John

John wrote: "Diane wrote: "I agree with Sushicat's comments. Once the points were taken from the Other 1001 books, I stopped posting reviews. That one point was enough incentive to take the time to read and rev..."
So sorry to see you go John. Will you still be over at Litsy? We could do a discussion of Water Margin there though I am not sure I will read it. Haven't been doing very well with the year long reads.

Ooooh, a diversity challenge? I hadn’t noticed that, but that’s awesome!

Chinook wrote: "Ooooh, a diversity challenge? I hadn’t noticed that, but that’s awesome!"

😊 glad you’re excited about it! I think it should be fun

Shuva wrote: "Jen wrote: "Chinook wrote: "Ooooh, a diversity challenge? I hadn’t noticed that, but that’s awesome!"

😊 glad you’re excited about it! I think it should be fun"

I seem to have missed this but can ..." I don’t think it has actually been posted yet, but it will be soon. Or I missed it too.

Shuva wrote: "Jen wrote: "Chinook wrote: "Ooooh, a diversity challenge? I hadn’t noticed that, but that’s awesome!"

😊 glad you’re excited about it! I think it should be fun"

I seem to have missed this but can ..."

Just posted it today so you haven't missed anything. There's a folder for it below. I'll move it up once 2018 starts but didn't want to move it up b/c we're all still working on 2017:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I think the diversity challenge sounds interesting (though I am terrible with themes, that’s why I majored in history, not English!). I love the 1001 list because I can easily find different perspectives and great literature from other countries and cultures. I don’t even understand why someone would work on the list if they have no interest in any of those things. That’s weird. Whatever!

John wrote: "Diane wrote: "I agree with Sushicat's comments. Once the points were taken from the Other 1001 books, I stopped posting reviews. That one point was enough incentive to take the time to read and rev..."

I’m sad to see you leave. You’ve been an integral part of the group for all the time I’ve participated. Take care and happy reading.

John, I am so sad that you are leaving, I have so much enjoyed our discussions, your ideas have been so insightful and interesting despite our differences. Please change your mind!

I think John has already removed himself from the group and I am not sure if he is getting your messages. You could private message him. It would be nice if he would change his mind.

Did anyone volunteer for the Water Margin? If not my copy of Volume 1 has arrived so I am happy to take this on eeeek

Book wrote: "Did anyone volunteer for the Water Margin? If not my copy of Volume 1 has arrived so I am happy to take this on eeeek"
No one volunteered, so it is yours. I don’t think I will be reading it. I haven’t done well with the yearly reads for the last two years.

Hi all! We're voting on our Reading 1001 choice awards for 2017. Please stop by and vote if you haven't already.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

could you direct me to the spot where I can see how all the different points are earned?

Kelly wrote: "could you direct me to the spot where I can see how all the different points are earned?"
Kelly, try looking in Things You Need to Know. I will also try to make it more concise and post it in the Annual 2018 points challenge, today.

Kristel wrote: "Kelly wrote: "could you direct me to the spot where I can see how all the different points are earned?"
Kelly, try looking in Things You Need to Know. I will also try to make it more concise and po..."

Thank you! I found your post and it was very helpful!

Yes this was very helpful, thank you Kristel!

Kelly wrote: "Kristel wrote: "Kelly wrote: "could you direct me to the spot where I can see how all the different points are earned?"
Kelly, try looking in Things You Need to Know. I will also try to make it mor..."
Great

OK, I am starting to worry about my hosting duties. Where do you all find your questions that you post when hosting a book? Should I be reading it now since it starts in April?

Kelly wrote: "OK, I am starting to worry about my hosting duties. Where do you all find your questions that you post when hosting a book? Should I be reading it now since it starts in April?"

I did start my book early before hosting but it is not necessary. You can find questions from reader groups online very easy. Sometimes books even come with questions in the back. For Blonde I posted questions as I went along and that seemed to work for me.