Play Book Tag discussion

Please vote for the tag you would most like to read for June at the following link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/89SGGQJ

You may click on the answer choices in the survey to see a listing of books that fit each tag.

Remember, you may cast up to a total of 10 participation points for your choice. Everyone gets one vote for free so please vote even if you don't have any participation points!

You can see how many participation points you currently have in the spreadsheet below.

Please note that if you are new to PBT, the participation points are tallied at the beginning of each month, so it is possible your name may not yet be added to the spreadsheet. Don't worry, it will be next month! In the meantime, you have one vote to cast, so please join the voting.

With all the new people, calculating the participation points is getting more challenging. We are up for the challenge, but if you think there may be an error, you are welcome to PM JoLene or myself, and we will try to get it straightened out!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Happy voting! Please cast your votes by 12 pm EST on 5/24.

Note: If no one choice receives more than 50% of the vote, people who chose the least popular choice will be asked to recast their votes for one of the remaining two options.

Oh no Anita! Your worst nightmare! Magical Realism! I almost didn’t vote for it because if you. Almost. ;-)

Susie wrote: "Oh no Anita! Your worst nightmare! Magical Realism! I almost didn’t vote for it because if you. Almost. ;-)"

Hahaha!

I have to admit that I am not thrilled with any of these choices, but have a book that I could read for each of them. On the plus side, they could all easily cover light, fun reads as we kick off summer!

Well, those of us in the northern hemisphere will be kicking off summer...

Susie wrote: "Oh no Anita! Your worst nightmare! Magical Realism! I almost didn’t vote for it because if you. Almost. ;-)"

Ha ha ha!!! I'm vaguely prepared regardless . . .but yes, this month wasn't exactly my cup of tea in terms of the options. I'm going to have to work hard to find something regardless of the winner.

Not thrilled with our choices this month ... but voted.

Nicole, feel for me over here preparing for Winter! A maximum of 14 tomorrow. Brrrrr.

Voted

The moment I saw Magical Realism I thought Anita is praying this does not get picked.

Susie wrote: "Nicole, feel for me over here preparing for Winter! A maximum of 14 tomorrow. Brrrrr."

Is that Celsius? Because that is not that cold....lol. Now, if it is Fahrenheit, then you have my sympathies!

It is Celsius, but for this little heat loving Melbourne girl it is freezing!!!! Please pity me. I work outdoors!

This time I used more than 1 point. So I have a decided preference--though I can read any of the three options.

I’ve voted for Magical Realism (Sorry Anita :)

I have plans for my reading this year, and there’s absolutely nothing that I can even half-fit into the ‘fairy tale’ tag.
The anthologies... I think I have some modern Russian fiction anthology on my shelf but that’s about it.
Magical realism on the other hand - Isabel Allende is in my list, as is Rushdie, Angela Carter is very high up in my physical, dust gathering, TBR ... maybe murakami or Italo Calvino ...

so that was a simple(ish) choice

Out of deference to my former co- moderator I did not vote for Magical Realism - turns out it's the tag I have the most books for - 15! But it's okay I'm covered for the other two tags as well.

Susie wrote: "It is Celsius, but for this little heat loving Melbourne girl it is freezing!!!! Please pity me. I work outdoors!"

Hahaha! Okay, I will give you a little pity. ;) What do you do outdoors?

Voted

Voted, but I doubt it will win. But I have so many collections I need to go through, I thought if it won I would have incentive.

Ladyslott wrote: "The moment I saw Magical Realism I thought Anita is praying this does not get picked."

I don't stand a chance, do I?

Ladyslott wrote: "Out of deference to my former co- moderator I did not vote for Magical Realism - turns out it's the tag I have the most books for - 15! But it's okay I'm covered for the other two tags as well."

Wow, that was very sweet of you!!

I do have a plan just in case (Sing Unburied Sing or the Murakami I keep threatening to try, but never do).

Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?

I only had unreads books on my shelf for the 'magical realism' choice, so had to go for that. Sorry, Anita!

Voted and not for magical realism, you're welcome Anita :-)

Meli wrote: "Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?"

Harry Potter is fantasy, not magical realism. Here is a definition from an article in Book Riot:

"Ultimately magical realism uses magical elements to make a point about reality. This is as opposed to stories that are solidly in the fantasy or sci-fi genres which are often separate from our own reality. There is a distortion effect in the very fiber of the prose that forces the reader to question what is real and often opens up avenues of reality we may not have thought possible before reading the story. The realities being questioned can be societal, familial, mental, and emotional, just to name a few."

Here is a link to that article (which contains some examples):

https://bookriot.com/2018/02/08/what-...

Meli wrote: "Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?"

I think the definition, like most things, is subject to interpretation. I would call Harry Potter fantasy, not magical realism. But that is my interpretation.

Here's one definition.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...


When I think of this genre I think of Like Water for Chocolate or The House of the Spirits

Voted, and threw 3 participant points towards fairy tales - I probably had more books on magical realism but I'm behind on one of my other challenges & I know which book I will use for the tag and the challenge if it wins!

For the first time since joining PBT, I am going to refrain from voting and let this one ride out. I have titles selected for each tag.

Meli wrote: "Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?"


While others have given the definition of magical realism......Harry Potter has been shelved many times under this tag.

Not much in Anthologies i like. Feels like most are vampire and fantasy or romance. I wouldn't hate it and probably could find something that would work. Seems like we did Fairy tales not that long ago. I dont think ill have a problem with any of it but there's not a lot already on my TBR.

It's so nice of everyone to worry about me! It's okay. I'm sure there have been tags I've loved that others have hated and still read. I will get by!!

Meli wrote: "Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?"

There is a Listopia for this genre if you need help-Although I voted for it, it looks like there may be a faction that is trying to cancel out my votes....LOL

Thank you everyone for the explanations, article links, etc!

Barbara wrote: "Not much in Anthologies i like. Feels like most are vampire and fantasy or romance. I wouldn't hate it and probably could find something that would work. Seems like we did Fairy tales not that long..."

Hi Barbara. I am wondering if an anthology of short stories--a collection of a writer you like. Maybe an anthology of poetry or of folk songs/popular songs.
I am hoping for anthology of fairy tales.

Anita wrote: "It's so nice of everyone to worry about me! It's okay. I'm sure there have been tags I've loved that others have hated and still read. I will get by!!"

Those are times when I select the smaller-the-better books:-)

Susie wrote: "It is Celsius, but for this little heat loving Melbourne girl it is freezing!!!! Please pity me. I work outdoors!"

Take care of yourself Susie. Maybe periodically stomp your feet and wiggle your fingers and toes. Sends that warm blood around at a faster rate. . . .That's what I do anyway when waiting for a bus on a cold day.

Cynda wrote: "Anita wrote: "It's so nice of everyone to worry about me! It's okay. I'm sure there have been tags I've loved that others have hated and still read. I will get by!!"

Those are times when I select ..."

Ha! Yes, this will most likely be one of those months for me no matter what, but I've never failed to find something to read, and sometimes I've even been happily surprised.

Tough choices this month. I always skim the first 1-2 pages to getting an idea of what books are on the list for each choice. I look to see if I have any reads or want to read and kind of go off that to choose. I picked the one that had some want to read on there, if hopes to knock some off my list> since I better at adding to it instead taking off it.

Meli wrote: "Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?"

Meli, also, when the winning tag is announced, we will have a whole thread dedicated to recommendations and reading plans! It will be a great place to get recommendations no matter what tag is chosen.

And, if you are anything like me, there will be MANY more books that look interesting than you can actually read in a month! lol

Nicole R wrote: "Meli wrote: "Voted.

If it is magical realism I will need some direction as to what would fall under that category... Harry Potter count?"

Meli, also, when the winning tag is announced, we will h..."

Excellent, thank you!
I checked out the Listopia challenge with that tag and looks like I actually have a couple of titles on my TBR shelf.

Noo!! Not magical realism!! Haha. If that wins, I'm definitely reading a Sarah Addison Allen.

I'll be ok with whatever wins. I have a feeling anthology will not win.

Ha! I just read all of the Lunar Chronicles last month!! And I don't have a single TBR that I could see on the Anthology list. I'm in the same boat with Anita and that's probably why I have a ton on my TBR for Magical Realism... it's just not my cup of tea so I keep procrastinating on reading them.

Charlotte wrote: "Ha! I just read all of the Lunar Chronicles last month!! And I don't have a single TBR that I could see on the Anthology list. I'm in the same boat with Anita and that's probably why I have a ton o..."

Misery loves company, lol.

Talking about definitions: is it an anthology if all stories are by the same author?

Anita wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Ha! I just read all of the Lunar Chronicles last month!! And I don't have a single TBR that I could see on the Anthology list. I'm in the same boat with Anita and that's probably ..."

I may have figured out my game plan (if it gets picked)... even though I hate magical realism, I LOVE Alice Hoffman and all of her books look to be on that shelf. I also picked up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle at the used bookstore yesterday. I saw Neil Gaiman on the list and I've been wanting to give one of his books a try. You better believe I will NOT be reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez :)

Sushicat wrote: "Talking about definitions: is it an anthology if all stories are by the same author?"


Great question. I think I would consider it an anthology if the stories were assembled and edited by someone other than the author, even if everything was by the same author i.e. the collected works of XYZ.

I wouldn't consider a book of short stories published by one author to be an anthology.

Usually I would expect an anthology to be a collection of works surrounding a theme by different authors . . .

On the flip side, if you search for anthologies, there are some bookstores that characterize a short story collection by a single author as an anthology. So what do I know?

Anita wrote: "Sushicat wrote: "Talking about definitions: is it an anthology if all stories are by the same author?"


Great question. I think I would consider it an anthology if the stories were assembled and e..."

I am in agreement that I ~want~ an anthology to have an editor, to have discussions about the materials within. Sometimes that discussion is very thin.

Charlotte wrote: "Anita wrote: "Charlotte wrote: "Ha! I just read all of the Lunar Chronicles last month!! And I don't have a single TBR that I could see on the Anthology list. I'm in the same boat with Anita and th..."

I am glad you pointed this out about Alice Hoffman. I have been interested in her The Marriage of Opposites.

Fairy tales as an option made this an easy vote for me. Pretty sure I can rustle up stuff for the other categories though too.

None is my favourite choice, that's for sure, but I knew immediately which one I should vote for. (NOT magical realism!!! I'm with Anita on that one).

I want anthology to include any group of short works, ANY, even if they are by one author. I'm not interested in editorial remarks.

DICTIONARY.COM says

1. a book or other collection of selected writings by various authors, usually in the same literary form, of the same period, or on the same subject: an anthology of Elizabethan drama; an anthology of modern philosophy. 2. a collection of selected writings by one author.

I freely admit to choosing the dictionary site where the definition fit with my opinion :)

Karin wrote: "None is my favourite choice, that's for sure, but I knew immediately which one I should vote for. (NOT magical realism!!! I'm with Anita on that one).

I want anthology to include any group of shor..."

I agree with you- I've always assumed this definition when I think of an anthology.

Voted, sorry Anita. That one seems to work best for me.

Booknblues wrote: "Voted, sorry Anita. That one seems to work best for me."

Lol, it's okay. I barely have choice for any of the three so this will be my month to

Sttttttretttttchhhhhhh!