Chicks On Lit discussion

I will be away from a computer visiting family for the holiday. So I am posting this a bit early. Do we want to continue our monthly book discussions in 2022? If yes, what should we start the year with?

It seems like there are only 3 of us who are active in this group. That is perfectly fine with me, but puts pressure on each of us to participate. I am happy to continue, but could be absorbed into another group with you both if interested.

I am in a number of GR groups. I would enjoy discussing their picks with both of you, if we went that route. I have one group that is focused on buddy reads, so members of that group often read in partners or triads. That allows members to read the books they are interested in rather than a more popular book which appeals to a larger group. I revived this monthly read a year ago in the hope that more members would get involved. This was one of my earliest connections when I first joined GR. I hated to see it disappear. But maybe this group has run its life span. Many of the members I first met here are now in other groups with me. So, I guess I am saying that I am fine either continuing or quitting. I have more than enough opportunities for book chats in other GR groups. But I am willing to keep this going as long as there is interest.

I’m happy to continue as a three or merge with another group, whichever you guys prefer.
Happy holidays to you both and speak soon.

Sorry, I was traveling for the holidays and just saw this. If the three of us want to keep this group going, I am up for that. Renee sometimes joins us. And, maybe Tara will come back if her life eases up.
Did anyone get any books for the holidays that we might want to read in January?

Happy Holidays from the warm festivities in Texas! I did get a book I am interested in reading and will nominate
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker.
I hope you are all well and not affected by COVID this holiday season.

I can get that one on loan if we want to read that in January. I had not heard of it before this.

Just for variety sake, I will nominate one on my physical TBR pile
The Dust That Falls From Dreams by Louis de Berniers
The Dust That Falls from Dreams

Let's give it a day or two to see if anyone else wants to be part of a January read. People might not be checking into GR with the holidays. If no one else does voice an interest, we can go with Cassandra. We can also use January to discuss the viability of this group going forward. Does it make more sense to let this group pass into GR history? If so, do those of us who have been reading together this past year want to meet up in another group? which one? If there is a desire to continue with this group, are there thoughts about how we might interest more members in our monthly reads?

I’m in for a January read. I was taking a while to reply as I couldn’t decide which of your books to go for as they both sound good.
If it’s easier for you both I don’t mind merging with another group, as this one seems quiet. Having said that I enjoy both of your comments and input. I don’t always chat as much but I like it.
Happy new year to everyone and I look forward to let’s more reading with you in 2022. 😊

Well, if everyone is good with Cassandra At The Wedding, why don't we have it as our first read of the year since it was the first nomination of the year. I will set up the thread now.

Let us also take January to discuss what we want to do going ahead. This will give others in the group, including our mod, to weigh in.

Should we continue our monthly reads even if only 2 to 4 people are participating at any month?

Does it make more sense to move to a more active group? If so, which group should that be?

Proes that I can see for moving to a larger group:
less pressure on the few of us who are reading to get the book and join in,
more input on the book under discussion,
less work for me to get these reads organized

Cons that I can see for shifting to a more active group:
less ability to select the books we like since a larger number of members will dilute each individual vote,
less pressure to participate makes it easier to drop out,
less connections between the few of us.

Can others think of proes and cons of stopping the monthly reads here and simply joining another larger group?

Like I said before I am happy to continue or move on however, that's easy for me to say as I dip in and out of this group when it suits me.

I feel that it's obviously more work for you Irene as you look after and lead us. With you being involved in other groups it might be nicer for you to have this one taken away?

I agree there would be less pressure to participate in a larger group...I mean I dont feel 'pressure' as such here but sometimes I am not sure if I have anything meaningful to add. So more people and contributions would be a positive thing. However we could become lazy and not be involved so much.

I think that maybe we could merge with another larger group? but then if occasionally we wanted a book that other members didnt we could once in a while do a smaller group or buddy reads ourselves? or maybe that defeats the point and it will continue the same, but was just a thought.

I don't know if it is polite to mention other GR groups other than the one you are posting in. I am not sure if it would be rude to suggest another group to join. So, if I am out of line, I hope the moderator, Terra, will quietly remove this post. But, I don't know how to move this conversation along without becoming specific.
If we were to migrate to another group, I am not sure I would want to join one more GR group. I guess it would depend on what its focus was. I am in several general interest groups here on GR. Many read the same book. Many have overlapping members. To join one more group like that would not hold much appeal for me. Of course, I would love to read and talk with you in one of the groups I am currently in.
If I were to suggest a group that we regather in, it would be Buddy Reads for Women. That is a selfish suggestion, maybe. I am the moderator of that group. It is small. It is totally based on people asking for a buddy to share a book with them.
That said, there is limitations to that group. There is no regular monthly title. We can go for months without anyone asking for a buddy. Active members are small. We could end up in that group reading less together than we currently are discussing.

Sounds good to me. I will join that one and we can decide if we want a Buddy Read in Feb. It would be a lot easier for you since you are the moderator.

Great, I’ve joined that group as well.

Vivienne, Did you join Buddy Reads For Women? Its status is private, so you have to request to join. I did not get a notice that we had a request from you to join. I just went to the page and there is no pending requests to join from you. I did get Melody's request and approved her.

Sorry, I hit join and it came up with a message saying you have joined, but when I went back to do it, although it says that it actually came up with an error message! I finally logged on my computer today and it came up saying I hadnt entered my birthday to my profile so it wasnt letting me send a request as it is an over 18 group. I think I have submitted it correctly now.
Thanks!

Yes, you did and you are now in the group.

Thank you!

Hi, I have been inactive on this site for way too long. I would love to be part of this but also trying to streamline groups so as not to become easily overwhelmed once again. Just let me know where the discussion will be.

Hi Cyn, This thread was from last January. A few of us tried to keep a monthly discussion going here for the first half of last year. We ran into the same issue you mention in your post, the need to streamline. With only 2 or 3 of us participating in a discussion each month, we started to ask if it would make more sense if we joined a more active group where we did not have to carry the conversation on our own. I don't want to promote another group on this site, so I am reluctant to mention another group name. But if you are looking, let me know. At this point, I don't think there is enough interest in a monthly book discussion here to be sustainable. If there were, I would be glad to participate.

Thanks, I opened an independent bookstore in 2012 and this site was one that fell away in the midst of all of the lists and groups I joined in regards to that.
This year, I am trying to choose where I spend my online time and am trying to see if there is anything on GR that fits. Thanks for responding

How awesome to own your own book store. I think that is a dream of so many readers. I hope the store is going well.

Thank you. We have been in our town for almost 11 years, and thank you. Please let me know about this discussion .

The few of us who were trying to keep this group going moved to Buddy Reads For Women in the hope that they would have more participation.