Play Book Tag discussion
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Time to Vote for the April Tag
NOOOO!!!! I am only barely into my Japan book!
But on the flip side, I am LOVING these options!
I am the opposite. I feel like 2 of the options are too broad and the other is too narrow.
I will be perfectly happy with any of these choices. Ironically, that's going to make voting really hard.
Sue wrote: "I will be perfectly happy with any of these choices. Ironically, that's going to make voting really hard."Right?!? Like, what do I vote for?!? Do I just pick one book that fits all three?! lol
I have dozens of read and want to read books on two of these. On the other I had to go to page 21 to find the lonely book I read and none for want to read.Clearly one does put me outside my comfort zone.
One of these is my favorite tag with special meaning to me so I'll be voting for it. I do have books that fit all three though so I'm good.
WOW, already!? :-O I would love to read a paranormal romance 😈
I thought of you right away, Meli, for paranormal romance
I am with NicoleR - just started 2 of my 3 Japan books and the 3rd may not get read. I can read for all of these. Hard choice!
Booknblues wrote: "I have dozens of read and want to read books on two of these. On the other I had to go to page 21 to find the lonely book I read and none for want to read.Clearly one does put me outside my comfo..."
I am in the same boat, quite probably with the same one.
Joy D wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "I have dozens of read and want to read books on two of these. On the other I had to go to page 21 to find the lonely book I read and none for want to read.Clearly one does put ..."
It is going to come down to what I feel like reading. I can't vote, but it seems I can always find a book to read.
Robin P wrote: "I am the opposite. I feel like 2 of the options are too broad and the other is too narrow."I agree that 2 are too broad. I'm lucky that I'd be ok with the 3rd option (so it's what I'm hoping for) , but I know many wouldn't want that one.
I voted. I have books for all - even paranormal romance which I really don't read much as I have one of the Ilona Andrews books to read from that series we all went nuts over during the author challenge last year. But 2 of them float to the top as fitting my attention span and mood making the vote easy.
If Best-sellers wins, I would need to look at actual best-seller lists for inspiration. For those who are still in a country frame of mind you could find best sellers in different countries. I have this link (for a seasonal challenge) to New York Times Best-seller lists for every year/week since they began. I looked at the lists for the year I was born so far. (I never gravitated to movies or books from this time period).
http://www.hawes.com/pastlist.htm
It looks like some of the recent best-sellers I want to read (such as Remarkably Bright Creatures), are also about Friendship. Paranormal romance might be fun for a change of pace. I'd probably look for a fantasy series that is broader than strictly romance.
Unbelievable, but I have one I could read for all of them, though none of them excite me, I may just pass on voting. Both books I had for Japan were not great and I threw them both back-doubt I will have a Japan book this month. That is fine for me, in fact fine for me from here on out. I was getting back into the the nasty habit of reading a book just because I needed it for a challenge. Ugh, it took me nearly 2 years to stop doing that and I refuse to go back there
You know I have never missed a challenge month ever. And that is part of what put me in such reading distress recently. But I found that Japan rather kicked me in the teeth too. I took out Flame in the Mist for Japan, but for whatever the reason, the first chapter didn't grab me, so I tossed it. And this is after having tossed the Wind Up Bird Chronicle, which would have been my Top 100 Fiction. But it was long, and I was not feeling inspired - as you guys know. So I tossed those for the Cellist of Sarajevo, which was NOT Japan, and depressed the hell out of me for 235 pages. Someone has that on their subdue gameboard. May the dice be kind. Anyway, I decided to give myself a breath and say that I did read When The Coffee Gets Cold, and I reviewed it literally DAYS before March 1st - so I am going with it that that was my Japan book, even if I didn't technically put the review under Japan. I am counting it as Japan for myself. But it is an interesting idea to give myself a break if a certain month doesn't work out. I have promised myself that I would, That if I ever just couldn't make it..... then the world would not end. Funny how we get so challenge minded. I think I have liked the structure because it helps me pick up things I might not or would not have gotten to. And yet if it feels obligatory, that is no fun. So I am proud of you Joanne, for sticking to your pleasure principle. As for paranormal romance, if I didn't already have something on my TBR that already fit - like some kind of witch or angel or something, that is a tag I wouldn't stretch for at this particular time. But I probably do. I am sure I have a character with unusual powers of some sort lying about. If it wins, I won't stress. Anyway, the other two are sort of broad, but it still allows me to knock something off.....
@Joanne and Amy,Towards the middle of last year, I decided to skip some tags that I simply could not find books for. I get no pleasure from reading a book that I dislike. My goal in posting reviews is to generate discussion. As we're all such different readers here with different tastes in books, I find that it's 50-50 (or worse) whether people will comment. It doesn't make sense to me to put energy into a book that I'm lukewarm about and write a review that then, nobody comments on. :(
This will be the first tag I have skipped in a long while. I am ok with it, and that is what matters.
It's funny how strict we are with ourselves. I know there are some tags I have skipped, and sometimes I read one by accident! That wouldn't happen with Japan, but for some of the more general ones it did. I had no idea a certain book would have an element that fit with the tag. I also don't write reviews for every book I read. If it wasn't that memorable, or was kind of a niche interest, and doesn't go with the theme, I don't bother. This is actually the only place on GR I write reviews at all. I never write them for GR in general. It seems like there are so many that nobody needs mine, and I'm not interested in discussion with masses of people I don't even know (I count this group as people I know!)
In general, I take a "creative" attitude toward challenges. For instance in the Around the Year group challenge, the rule is "if you say it counts, it counts." We also do that in PBT for where we place reviews of books that may not have the 5 tags but we think it fits. I understand it's different for games, that's perfectly fine, otherwise there would be no challenge to the game at all.
Hmm, it's tempting to analyze Amy and wonder whether her insistence on doing the challenge "right" is reflected in her son's view that there is one "right" college. I used to get stuck in this pattern more when I was younger, now I am more likely to say "good enough" and let things go.
I'm struggling with Japan a little, too. I gave up on my first try The Easy Life in Kamusari about 40% in, and now I'm hesitating on my other choices. I'm determined to try at least one more thing, though, just so I don't risk equating that one book with all of Japanese literature for the rest of my life! (Something my brain would definitely do without my permission.) I probably need to go with an adult pick this time since the YA aspect might have been part of the problem...but the other YA is the one that sounds most interesting...So this is why I just keep going in circles over and over and not starting either of them arrrrrrgh
Robin P wrote: "It's funny how strict we are with ourselves. I know there are some tags I have skipped, and sometimes I read one by accident! That wouldn't happen with Japan, but for some of the more general ones ..."While I don't think I've missed a monthly tag, I definitely don't view it as a "challenge", but simply a way to either 1) expand my reading horizons (like it did this month), OR 2) help me choose from a ridiculously lengthy TBR/interested list . . .just giving me an excuse to pick something out as opposed to always looking for the latest thing. I also really do enjoy the camaraderie of discussing what we will read and seeing the suggestions and list of others. I don't know why I find that a lot of fun, but I do, even if it doesn't guide my own reading much.
I do like the streak aspect of reading along for so many years, but I'm an administrator so feel like I need to set an example, and the rest of you really don't need to do that!
Pam wrote: "I'm struggling with Japan a little, too. I gave up on my first try The Easy Life in Kamusari about 40% in, and now I'm hesitating on my other choices. I'm determined to try at least..."The Housekeeper and the Professor is one of my all time faves, not just for this tag, but like just in general. It's older so should be available from the library. I personally can't do YA, so yeah, I think maybe go in a different direction. Or just skip it if it isn't working out!!
I have a bit of OCD, so I tend to want to read for the tag, even if it's not something I typically enjoy. I usually can find something, and people here are really helpful in providing options. At the same time, I feel like I need to be okay with not being a completist if it's something I truly will not enjoy. I tend to agree with the advice I've been given that "Life is too short to read books we're not enjoying." It's a balancing act.If Paranormal Romance wins, I'll likely be here asking for suggestions for books for people who do not enjoy "paranormal" or "romances," lol.
I tend to skip the tag when it doesn't hit on my book club reads, because up until just a couple months ago I was in enough book clubs to fill the month. It's kinda like a stroke of luck when they align. Some tags I like more than others of course, like most of us. If I had more freedom in my reading I would try to hit the tag as much as possible.
@RobinP - your comment about 'right' is interesting and actually something many do struggle with in challenges - I have had many an argument with friends doing Popsugar who insist that the prompt means X and therefore some book they were considering to read for it wouldn't fit whereas I say it certainly could if you interpret it a different way. I credit my training and years as a lawyer to opening my mind to seeing that everything really is subject to different interpretation, thus making a far broader application than you first consider.
Also contributing to how you handle the monthly challenge is how many books you can actually read in a month and whatever reading commitments - to bookclubs or yourself or work or whatever - you are juggling. Both Meli and BC for example are active in multiple bookclubs which place monthly demands. Some people can only read 3 or 4 books a month. I can read 3 or 4 books a week when not engaged in reading NF or an 800+ pager. That makes it easier for me to add a Japan book to the roster.
I use the monthly tags primarily to read a book I have on the TBR. For England, I didn't finish 3 of the books I had until March which was fine. I happen to have 4 or 5 different books for Japan that I am eager to read and have had in my TBR Towers for quite some time - an historical fiction, a history, a detective novel, and a Murikami (two of his infact). Oh and at least 2 books with cats on the cover and in the title. That's just a superficial glance. I'm going to be lucky to get 2 read and maybe a 3rd.
I think I missed one month since I joined --- there are a small number of tags I will not read for - self-help being one.
@Amy - I say either count the book you finished just before Japan was picked or count a book that won't be finished until April - and you have done the challenged. Makes sense to me.
Unless you really care whether you get the full 3 points, there is no reason to push yourself to read something -- you are not being graded or needing it for a degree.
Theresa wrote: "@RobinP - your comment about 'right' is interesting and actually something many do struggle with in challenges - I have had many an argument with friends doing Popsugar who insist that the prompt m..."To your point, Theresa, paranormal romance is not something I would normally read, however if I scour my shelves, I am sure to find something which will fit for the tag. I read Briefly, A Delicious Life last year and 35 people tagged it romance and 15 people tagged it paranormal ( an incredibly small number as a ghost was telling the story.) It was in my top 10 last year so I would happily recommend it for paranormal romance.
If paranormal romance wins I will read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue which I have been wanting to read and never can fit in as it fits both paranormal and romance.
The other thing I have to add to the discussion, I've had a few months in all the years which I haven't managed to find something and the world didn't end.
I would say that by reading the tags, it has significantly widened my reading habits and changed its direction.
That is a brilliant pack for paranormal romance. Even worth voting for!
Me too BnB, I try to read several tag books each month, and it has really expanded my reading, and introduced me to new genres, authors and locations.People are so idiosyncratic in the way they use the tags, you can usually find tagged books that stretch the tag enough to satisfy almost anyone. So if Paranormal romance wins, I will look for one of the big popular fantasies with romance farther down the genre list. I do have a Lauren Hamilton book on my shelves (her books are sexy and dark).
I don't think I've missed a month yet, even when I decided I would skip one.
I don't like all Japanese literature, but I found two this month that I think most people in the group would like. The second feels like familiar women's fiction.
Sweet Bean Paste which is a translated book with more feeling than in some of the other books.
The Woman in the White Kimono by an American author, based on her father's relationship with a Japanese woman after the war. It has echoes of Irish Magdalen Laundry stories and / Small Things Like these.
I also try to fit in something from my TBR or from another challenge, usually no problem. I did get The Cat Who Saved Books from the library but it was enjoyable, and probably took me an hour and a half to read (as opposed to Sho-Gun, which I do own and want to read but probably not this month!) For another challenge I needed a fiction book popular in the month I was born, (a really picky challenge which I hope nobody ever chooses again) and one of them is a Pearl Buck book set in Japan, or relating to it. I might get to that one. I thought "no way" on paranormal romance but I have heard of Addie La Rue and maybe there are others people can recommend. Usually I only end up with paranormal by accident, thinking I am reading fantasy, sci-fi, romance or historical fiction and then finding a zombie or other creature.
Ha! after my last post, I looked up my next STS book and it is The Moonsteel Crown, which I bought as a fantasy ebook, and the description says "Dead Men walk the streets..." and a review mentions zombies! It's not marked Paranormal or Romance but we'll see.
Booknblues wrote: "Theresa wrote: "@RobinP - your comment about 'right' is interesting and actually something many do struggle with in challenges - I have had many an argument with friends doing Popsugar who insist t..."The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is truly a great option for paranormal romance and an example of a book that is not what even I commonly think would be tagged such. It never occurred to me to tag it that way! One of my lifetime top 10 reads.
You know, it occurs to me that reading for tag every month is like having perfect attendance at every book club meeting or whatever. Several years ago, a friend and I needed to go to Florida for a week to empty the assisted living apartment of a mutual friend who had died (we were her heirs and I was the executor), and it had to be done within a pretty narrow time period. We needed a week and I also had to fit it around my work schedule, flight availabiility, coordinate with the facility staff and with a distant cousin of our friend who was going to help who also had to take leave from her job. My friend was retired with few competing commitments. When we worked out a suitable doable 5 day period for all -- my friend suddenly announces she can't do it because of some commitment. Upon investigation, it was going to ruin her perfect attendance record at her coop's book club (this was before virtual). I hit the roof. I said yes, it's important and even something to be proud of, having perfect attendance, but life has to come first as do consideration for other commitments and those involved, and that doing what we promised we would do and in fact were obligated to do in clearing out that apartment were far more important that book club. In fact why not ask to move the date of the bookclub?
She ended up missing book club and the world did not end. We are also still friends, even after I said something about my law practice needing me was more important than any book club.
So sometimes we get all caught up in having perfect attendance to our detriment.
Again, I might have said somewhere, that Addie LaRue is almost worth a vote for paranormal. Theresa, your friend was over the top with the book club thing. I’m glad you straighten her out and she got her priorities on.
I'm fine with all the options though I tend to prefer the narrower tags. I'm lucky that the narrow tag is one I enjoy and read fairly frequently already.Mostly I try to fit the tag with prompts from other challenges and it usually works out well. I try to but don't pressure myself to read every month. I know I have missed at least one month but possibly more. Sometimes I read but don't manage to post the review.
Work is insane for me right now so I'm taking a break from my most demanding challenge and am using the tag to choose from my overly extensive hold list at the library. I had 4 books on hold tagged Japan. I've managed two and hope to get to a third.
I was going to try to match a PBT Birthday Candle with my Japan tag, but my current reads are taking me a long time, so although Japan only features briefly as a setting I'm probably using Burnt Shadows for my Japan book.
I am finding all this discussion interesting. I had plans to read a ton of Japan books and have finished 2 books and some great manga but I feel like I have fallen short of my goals this month due to a sudden increase of things that need my attention at home. I am not really sure what to think about April. I do read some series that are likely tagged paranormal romance but nothing is jumping out at me. I am sure I will find a great book for whatever is chosen.
Despite voting for paranormal romance, I am over 25 pages deep in this list and there is NOTHING on my tbr! 🤣😂It's not what I would usually read, but for some reason I am in the mood for it.
So, I can read The Dragon's Bride which I just picked up on a recent book vacation, or the 3rd in the Court of Thorns & Roses series, or finally after all these years possibly Outlander!
I almost want this tag to win more than I wanted zombies if you can believe it. Love is in the air!
Meli wrote: "Despite voting for paranormal romance, I am over 25 pages deep in this list and there is NOTHING on my tbr! 🤣😂It's not what I would usually read, but for some reason I am in the mood for it.
So,..."
I know what you mean, I can find books that have paranormal and romance tags, but paranormal-romance seems to be a specific sub genre. I have nothing but a (dark) Laurel Hamilton book on my Kindle.
If you count time travel romance as paranormal, I am fine with that. It's the vampires/werewolves/zombies/ghosts that I find annoying.
Robin P wrote: "If you count time travel romance as paranormal, I am fine with that. It's the vampires/werewolves/zombies/ghosts that I find annoying."I get that, it is a very niche genre.
I assume Outlander makes it for the tag for the time travel romance aspect.
Robin P wrote: "If you count time travel romance as paranormal, I am fine with that. It's the vampires/werewolves/zombies/ghosts that I find annoying."Time travel isn’t paranormal. The list appears to have a few sexy alien creatures as well as the traditional vampire and werewolf romances.
Two of these choices I like and the other I can probably find something for if push comes to shove.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Burn for Me (other topics)Golden Girl (other topics)
The Dragon's Bride (other topics)
Burnt Shadows (other topics)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (other topics)
More...
https://forms.gle/yzJPmALRmQd5Uhqg8
Here are the lists of books for each tag:
bestsellers: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
friendship: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
paranormal romance: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Remember, you may cast up to a total of 10 participation points for your choice. Every PBT member 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.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Happy voting! Please cast your votes by 12 noon EST on 3/21.