Supernatural Fiction Readers discussion
Suggestions for SFR Group Improvements
If you go to the group home page & look at topics, only the top few topics in any folder will show, the most recently active on top. You then need to click on the folder to see them all. I'd rather see more folders breaking up topics by Author, Book discussion, reviews & Miscellaneous than have just one. There is no way to search just topic names, so trying to find an old topic can be a pain. Maybe I'm just OCD, though.
Jim, if you're OCD, then I am too, because I've sometimes thought the same thing! (Of course, my wife sometimes compares me to TV's Mr. Monk. :-)) And the Goodreads management doesn't forbid groups with less than 100 topics to have folders, even if they don't recommend them. So, we've got two votes for folders, and none against so far. If you have an opinion, I'll give you all another couple of days to weigh in, and we'll go from there.The breakdown I was thinking of, besides General, was: Common reads; Other Authors/Books (besides the ones in Common reads, and Poe, since we have a folder for him) and Films and TV --of course, that only has one thread, so maybe it could go in a Miscellaneous folder, if we start one. (Book threads that could be about a number of books, like "Vampire Books," would stay in General.) I guess we could have separate folders for threads about specific authors and about specific books --though I thought those sort of go together? This is all still in the embryonic stage, so everybody's input is wanted and welcome!
Well, so far we have three people in favor of folders, and none against. And since I already created one new folder besides the General one (before I read the fine print) one could argue that it looks lonely without a few more to go with it! :-)Assuming we ultimately decide to add more folders, I've given the arrangement more thought, with the benefit of Jim's suggestions, above. How does this arrangement strike everybody: General; Common Reads; Thematic Discussions (Jim, I'm thinking maybe this corresponds to your "Book discussions?"); SFR Group Members Who Are Authors (this would be the thread where you can promote your book, and announce events); Edgar Allan Poe; Other Specific Authors/ Works; and Miscellaneous?
Since all the responses to the idea of having more folders have been favorable, I've started adding some, and editing our discussion threads into them. Of course, this process isn't complete, and any and all feedback is welcome. I've also discovered it's possible to remove folders (without removing the threads inside!), so any you all don't want, we don't have to keep.
I somehow doubt that anyone is going to be upset if you delete any of my posts. If they're a pain to move & easier to delete, go for it.
I'm not deleting anybody's posts, for the most part. (I did delete an obsolete one of my own. :-)) What I'm doing is moving entire discussion threads (topics) into particular folders. That keeps the content, but (hopefully) makes it easier to see and find.
Just a quick note --several threads started by group members who are authors, promoting their work, have NOT been deleted. They're gathered into a folder for Group Members Who Write, and you can find it if you click on "discussions;" but for some reason it doesn't show on the group home page. My next order of business will be to work on correcting that; but I have to log off for now, since I'm at work, and my meal break is over! :-)
Okay, as of now, we have the new arrangement of folders/topics completed, unless anyone wants to have it tweaked some! For the moment, you still have to click on "all" or "discussions" to see the Group Members Who Write folder --I'm not sure why, but I've posted a question about it to the Goodreads Feedback group. Hope the new look of the homepage makes it easier to find things, and encourages participation!
It looks very good, Werner! Lots of work there. Thanks.
Well, our common read of The Haunting of Hill House was, theoretically, for the month of June. Of course, the threads for that book will stay active, and I'm sure there will be more comments from time to time (I know some people who voted for the book in the poll weren't able to get around to reading it yet). On the whole, though, this selection didn't spark as much response as our two previous ones: 8 comments (on two threads), as opposed to 48 on Interview With the Vampire and 27 on Ghost Story.Doing a common read at times is a worthwhile idea; but it's occurred to me that maybe summer --when a lot of people travel on vacations, and when outdoor activities beckon and reduce reading time-- isn't the optimum time to do one. Rather than a February/ June/October schedule for these, what do you all think of a January/May/September schedule? (Of course, with that schedule, the selection process for two of these reads would fall, respectively, over the Christmas season and in late summer.) Other suggestions are welcome, too! Also, since I'm the only moderator here (some groups have four or five :-)), I've been thinking that maybe when I nominate or endorse a book for one of these reads, it tends to inhibit alternative ideas too much. We'd all probably like to be sure our selections really come from the grass roots! So I think for the future, I'll let you all make the nominations; I'll set up a poll, but I won't vote unless there's a tie. (That'll save us from having to have another run-off poll!)
If we don't get a contrary view, let's plan on doing another group read in September. We can start thinking about nominations around the beginning of August --if that sounds good to everybody?
Fine with me I have a ton of books on my TR pile and a few I would really like to get out of the way. Now I have a few months to do so! :)
Maybe we should let others know about any books we're reading. Might lead to some discussion. My to-read pile is full, but I may have already read something someone else is reading. If so, I'd love to discuss it.
I've been so quiet. Weird.Werner, I like your style. Your suggestions sound good to me.
I wonder if Liseys' Story by Stephen King is too genre for some readers. I feel it's the first great book he's written in a while (ducking stones.) I once read everything he wrote, loooooong ago.
Keep talking. Some of us may not always chime in, but we are listening.
Thanks, Sandra! And for those of you who like to read posts more than you like to write posts yourselves, that's fine, too. We like to cater to everybody's tastes; and for those who like to write posts, having people here who like to read them makes it worthwhile!Jim broached the idea (in a message) of maybe doing a common read each month, since they're voluntary --obviously, not everybody would participate each month, but those who wanted to could. I'm not opposed to that idea, and you all can consider it, along with the one above. It would allow for a bigger number and variety of books to be discussed.
Yes, that would be good. If we see interest dropping off, we can revise.
We all owe a big thanks to Jim MacLachlan, who's very graciously consented (even though he's got a pretty full plate already) to share the moderator's spot for this group. Of course, I'll still be here, too; I love moderating this group, and don't plan to quit until I'm at least 100! But I will be leaving on Monday for a week of vacation with virtually no Internet access, so Jim will have the keys to the crypt while I'm gone. :-)
Wait until you get back & see how I redecorated before you thank me!Enjoy the vacation, Werner!
Thanks, Jim! (I'm not very worried. :-))
Dylan, does your Horror Leisure Reading group still do a common read every month? How has that worked out? It occurs to me that, with that schedule, the selection process could be a challenge. How do you guys go about selecting what to read each month? It would have to be a shorter process than the ones we've used in this group, wouldn't it?
I might have a slight suggestion, only because I'm a re-new to the genre. If you might add an author discussion group for the groups favorite authors and break it up accordingly, I know that would help someone like myself get an idea of what books by what author I might want to read without cruising all sorts of different topics to find them. Don't get me wrong, you all have made great suggestions.
Nona, discussion threads for particular favorite authors sounds like a promising idea! You suggested that we "break it up accordingly." Can you give us more of a specific idea of what kind of format you had in mind there?
well uh I know you have genre's so take some of the top authors or genre favorites and just use that as topic title so everyone interested in them or has read them in the past can discuss their work and titles. ex Patricia Briggs as the topic(since I'm reading her book she's a good example) and we could all discuss all her titles, series, characters and up coming books.just a sugges
Okay, Nona, we'll see what we can do! It probably will be a while before I post many new topics, since I'm pretty tied up this week helping out with VBS at my church (sorry to be AWOL so much lately :-)), but any of you who have favorite authors you'd like to discuss can create topics for them in the meantime (or any time) as well.
I created a Patricia Briggs topic & posted the covers for the books in her urban fantasy. Is this what you wanted, Nona? Is this the right category or should I make a new one for urban fantasy authors?
How does everyone feel about posting covers instead of just a link to the book? I did that, but find a lot of the covers are hard to read. You can't tell before posting how they'll look, easily. Sometimes I like them better, but I think usually not. What do you think?
Jim, that folder is exactly the right category for the Patricia Briggs topic, and thanks for getting that one started. I've never read any of her work --but it looks really interesting!Re the book covers, I could go either way. They take up more room than a link, but they're just as clickable for going to the book listing, and a lot more colorful; and I think they give the reader more of an impression of what the book is like than a bare link would. (If any of them are hard to read, you can make them larger by clicking on them.) So I'd say that should be at the discretion of whoever does the posting. (Being something of a computer klutz, I probably won't post either one! :-))
Thhank you Jim it helps alot when people suggest an author to just go to their'group' to find titles and thoughts on their work.
No problem! We aim to please. I really like Briggs myself. I think we have most of hers.
I'm really liking her so far, cannot remember if it was you or someone else that suggested Haunted Lily, I put an Inter-libaray loan out for that one it seems hard to find.
I think I'm the only one here who has read Sydney's book, "Haunting Lilly". She told me it was supposed to be republished soon, last Fall, which should help availability. I haven't heard from her in ages though, so don't know what the status is.
The thought occurred to me re Sydney's book --but also other books that we've passed over as common read selections because they might be too new to be widely available in libraries-- that, if we do start offering 12 common reads a year, library access may not be such a crucial consideration as it was when we only did three a year. Those who don't want to purchase a given book for a common read probably wouldn't mind sitting it out so much if they knew there'd be another group read the following month (?). If that's indeed the case, we could sometimes choose new books that have caused a buzz and that people are anxious to read.Of course, when it comes to Haunted Lily, its availability won't pose a problem for me --I own a copy, and it's very much on my to-read agenda! :-)
Over on the Moderator Support Group, a lady recently posted, as samples that other moderators might tweak for their groups, two special closed threads that she'd put at the top of her group's General folder: one is an introductory thread to explain the ropes to new members and help them not to feel shy, and the other is a guide to the various folders of discussions on the group site. She thought this idea might be useful for larger groups.It occurred to me that, at 495 members strong now, our group probably is one of the larger ones! What do some of the rest of you think --especially those who've joined us just in the past few months, but the rest of you, too? Do you think either or both of these introductory posts would be helpful to people here? Would they be helpful to YOU personally? If there's a feeling that this would be a good thing, I can't promise that I'll get these posts created very quickly, but I'll get them up as soon as I can!
I think a quick guide would be helpful.
Werner wrote: "Over on the Moderator Support Group, a lady recently posted, as samples that other moderators might tweak for their groups, two special closed threads that she'd put at the top of her group's Gener..."
Hope I can find it, thanks for the tip,
Alice
Hope I can find it, thanks for the tip,
Alice
Well, I just created one thread, as it turned out; but it's always the first one on the discussion board when you click on our main group page --the very first one in the "General" folder at the top of the list. The title is "About this group." Hope it's helpful!
Werner wrote: "Jim, if you're OCD, then I am too, because I've sometimes thought the same thing! (Of course, my wife sometimes compares me to TV's Mr. Monk. :-)) And the Goodreads management doesn't forbid grou..."
Glad I read this as I automatically started creating folders as I thought that was what we were supposed to do! I forget so much stuff.
Glad I read this as I automatically started creating folders as I thought that was what we were supposed to do! I forget so much stuff.
The GR staff has created a new type of topic called a 'Discussion' topic. The last two created here have been of that sort & I've changed them to regular topics because I don't think that's what they meant to do. When you create a new topic now, there is a check box below the name that says "This is a discussion topic."Of course it is, but the problem - as I see it - with a discussion topic is that everyone can only reply once. After you have, you get a notice, "You've already answered this question. You can't answer the question twice, but you can edit your answer." There are buttons to the left which allow a person to vote an answer higher or lower. On the right, you can choose to comment on another's answer. Kind of reminds me of Facebook.
Personally, I don't see how this helps discuss anything. I've played with it in a private group & don't care for it. We reordered answers until no one was sure who said what & when. It was kind of fun, but not a very good way to discuss a book or even get recommendations.
If you haven't seen one, I've made a test one here.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/5...
Please type a few words in it & experiment. Maybe I'm off base & it is exactly what folks want. If so, that's fine.
Thanks, Jim! We've had a lot of discussion of this new feature in the Goodreads Feedback group, and virtually nobody likes it, for the reasons Jim indicated. The way the software is set up is rather misleading, and I think would often tempt people to mistakenly click that box without realizing what it does. If nobody objects, I'd say the policy in this group should be that these "discussion topics" (except for Jim's example, above) will be changed to regular threads whenever they appear. (Of course, that will be providing that the topic's creator has no objection.)
Please type a few words in the test discussion topic. GR staff is all pumped up about it, but so far I've yet to see any users who like it. There must be some reason the staff thinks it will help.
Will do, Jim! (IMO, the reason some of the GR staff are pumped about it is that Facebook has something similar, Facebook is popular and financially successful, and they think that imitating Facebook will make GR popular and successful. I don't think that conclusion follows from those premises.)To clarify my comment above, if you WANT a thread you start to be a "discussion topic," message Jim or I to let us know, or say so in your initial post. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is "silence is consent!"
The folders are an excellent idea. Being new here may I ask if there has been any discussion as to the recent demand for audio books?
Michael, sorry to take so long in responding to your question! (I'm not able to be online very much right now, so when I can be, my e-mailed notifications from Goodreads just get a lick and a promise --and the older ones tend to get buried at the bottom of the pile. :-( )Glad you like the folders! As far as I recall, we've never had much discussion in this group of audiobooks as such. But you could start a discussion thread for that (or for anything else), if you want to --you don't have to be a moderator to do that!
We should have one for audio books. With the library allowing folks to download them for a free loan, more & more will be listening to them.
Thanks Werner . I have a friend that has a radio show that will also help some of the authors here have their books on air for the public to enjoy and also promote their work.
When I was looking to make the audio book topic, I noticed that there are a ton of topics in the Miscellaneous folder. Many are old & have only 1 post. Some should be moved to "Group Members Who Write", but others are promotions for blogs & such. Should we create an Archive folder or maybe just delete old topics with only 1 post that are over a year old?
Should we create a "Promotions" folder for promotional stuff other than "Group Members Who Write"?
I'd also like to clean up the "Group Members Who Write" folder with some sort of naming convention. The author's name - book(s). Some are titled "New book by xxx" or just have the book's title. There are also other topics about self-publishing & scams in here. I don't know where else they'd belong, but I'm not sure this is the best place unless we float topics about all who write to the top.
My aim is to give the group a more logical layout so that anyone can look through & see what topics are where, whether as a newcomer acquainting themselves with us or a long time member looking for something. I'd also like to make it easier to find what any group member has to offer & get more activity in a particular author's folder, rather than have it scattered all around.
Thoughts?
Help?!!!
;-)
Jim, I'd say your suggestions sound good! (For the older one-post topics, I like the idea of an Archive folder.)
Michael, I just now read your message 44. Is your friend named Giovanni Gelati, and is his radio show The G-Zone? If so, it's a small world --he's one of my Goodreads friends, too, and he's been really swell about helping to promote my work through his blog, "Gelati's Scoop!"
Sorry he isn't the same person. I will have to check out the G-Zone and see what he has. I will look into the blog also.
Michael, I hope that'll turn out to be a contact that leads to some publicity for your books, too!
According to a notation in the folder creating function, the Goodreads management doesn't recommend using folders unless a group has over 100 discussion threads going (we have 33). So, for now, I'm not going to add any more, unless any of the rest of you want them. But, for now, I will keep the new Poe folder we already have (once we have a folder, I think we have to keep it, though I may be wrong).