Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

When I first joined this group I had no idea what a Buddy Read was or how to participate. I'm hoping to answer a few questions for newbies if you find yourself in the same shoes I did.

What is a Buddy Read?

A buddy read is when two or more people converge to read a book.

How does a Buddy Read work?

Our Master List of Buddy Reads is now automated into a document:

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

If you see a BR that looks enticing, hop on the thread and join the read – it's that easy! Everybody is free to read at their own pace and share their thoughts and comments with others as they go (making sure to mark spoilers… I'll cover that below).

How do I suggest a book and invite people to a Buddy Read?

The best place to suggest a Buddy Read is in the Buddy Read Invite folder. If anyone else is interested, decide on a start date and let us know in the Mods Please Add This Buddy Read thread and we will set it up.

What are the Buddy Read Rules?

The rules are practically identical to our main group rules:

1. Be respectful. Differences in opinion are welcomed and encouraged, but personal attacks and hateful speech will be deleted and you may be removed from the group without warning.
2. Mark all spoilers with an indication as to where your hidden comments take place in the book to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable reading experience.

How do I mark/hide spoilers?

Marking spoilers is easiest on the desktop version (if you don't have a desktop, you can open Goodreads on your phone's browser and set it to desktop version on there).

The spoiler marker is found in the little green link above the comment box labeled "(some html is okay)." I usually just copy and paste, but here's what it looks like (minus the spaces): < spoiler > your text < / spoiler > The result looks like this: (view spoiler)[these are the nasty spoilers we hides, precious. (hide spoiler)]. You can type this code into the App for the same effect (it will hide spoilers), but you won't be able to click on it afterwards to reveal them unless you switch back to the desktop version. I hope Goodreads fixes this eventually.

I hope that was helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions. :)

-Niki

Thank you, Niki! I appreciate everything you moderators do.

John wrote: "Thank you, Niki! I appreciate everything you moderators do."

Thanks John! :)

Good idea to post this!

Great Idea :) This would have definitely helped me out a couple months ago haha

If you know the code for spoilers you can hide them with the app. You still can't view spoilers though, which is annoying.

Anyway, it's a great idea to have this thread.

Great idea. I would also add when possible a buddy read is a discussion of the chapters and theories on what might come. Sometimes books are very straightforward and this really isn't possible but sometimes a book will span a couple of hundred posts because so much is going on.

Honestly I wish I had this post when I first got on Goodreads haha. Really good idea Niki =]

Like your use of converge.

Thanks everyone! I'm glad it was received well. :) and thanks for the edit suggestions - I'll add those.

Don't worry folks, I'm still learning how to properly Buddy Read.. apparently rule #1 is just to show up and be present

The irony of me writing this is that I'm usually the wallflower of the buddy reads I've joined. Or the lurker, but that doesn't sound as lovely lol.

This is a great idea - it looks super organized and easy to understand. :)

This is a great idea Niki.

I just never know what to say!

There's a code to put spoilers in app? Do tell how.

Silvana wrote: "There's a code to put spoilers in app? Do tell how."

No the app blows. I use my tablet and phone browsers vs the app.

I couldn't figure out how to show the code without it applying. I'll add that too. :)

Thank you, Jenna! will try.

This post is soooooooo helpful!!

Sam wrote: "This post is soooooooo helpful!!"

You just made my day! ^_^

::bump::

Ahem... bump

You know what really makes a buddy read great? When you see a series through from start to finish. So far I've done this with.

Ketty Jay 4/4 The Ace of Skulls
Summoner 3.5/3.5 The Novice
Broken Earth 3/3 The Stone Sky
First Law Singles 4/4 Red Country
BotF 10/10 The Crippled God
Malazan Empire 6/6 Assail
Powder Mage 3/3 The Crimson Campaign
Dagger & Coin 5/5 The Spider's War

There's been a ton of other partials but thanks to everybody who helped see these through. In some cases, BotF, it wasn't the same people the entire way through but nonetheless reflection on these they were all so much fun because of the camaraderie.

That's so cool! Who knew reading could become such a fun social thing? :)

Real life book clubs always seemed so old-timey and limiting... the Goodreads way, or the FBR way, seems much more flexible and adjustable to varying reading time/speed...

Yeah I think the internet and its quirk to talk to people from the other side of the world make book clubs and buddy reads much more entertaining and sociable even more than physical ones haha

Thanks for this post. Really great info.

Thanks! I'm glad it was helpful. :)

bump

Hello Niki! This was surely very helpful since I am a novice in the group.... and I am struggling with operations. Just one question- when we open buddy read invite folder, do we simply just write what we want to read and wait for others to respond? I mean do we simply COMMENT the name of the book and the date when we would like to start?
Or are there any other formalities also?

Paritoshika wrote: "Hello Niki! This was surely very helpful since I am a novice in the group.... and I am struggling with operations. Just one question- when we open buddy read invite folder, do we simply just write ..."

No formalities needed :) Just name your book and a time you would like to start and wait for responses. If you aren't using the app, you could also link the book via 'add book/author' above the text window, that way it's easier for others to look up what kind of book you want to read ;) That's all, good luck finding reading buddies!

Hi Paritoshika!

Just follow what Anni said. We are a pretty easy going group. :)

The place to ask if others want to read a book together is in the "Buddy Read Invite" thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Enjoy!

Paritoshika wrote: "Hello Niki! This was surely very helpful since I am a novice in the group.... and I am struggling with operations. Just one question- when we open buddy read invite folder, do we simply just write ..."

Hi Paritoshika! I'm glad you found the post helpful (and welcome to the group). I'll piggyback off of what Anni and Jenna said (thanks ladies) and add don't get discouraged if no one responds. I think everyone checks the buddy read invite thread almost daily and only comment on the ones they're sure they can commit to. Just keep asking and eventually one will land (that's what I usually do). It might also be helpful to note that a lot of people are scheduled out, so you usually get a better response if you ask for a timeline at least a couple of weeks out. Hope that helped! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions. :)

Oh my God you guys are so awesome and sweet! Thanks a lot- Sir Anni, Jenna Kathleen and Niki Hawkes. I will surely ask for help if I have any other query. Thank you guys for being so helpful and considerate. :)

Paritoshika wrote: "Oh my God you guys are so awesome and sweet! Thanks a lot- Sir Anni, Jenna Kathleen and Niki Hawkes. I will surely ask for help if I have any other query. Thank you guys for being so helpful and co..."

You're welcome. ^_^

Paritoshika wrote: "Oh my God you guys are so awesome and sweet! Thanks a lot- Sir Anni, Jenna Kathleen and Niki Hawkes. I will surely ask for help if I have any other query. Thank you guys for being so helpful and co..."

No problem :)

Hardest part of being assimilated into the FBR/Borg is that most of us veterans are booked for weeks/months... it gets easier once your around for a bit and have plans in place for the near future and can start planning further out without feeling like you have to wait 2 months to read anything...

A lot of us like to pull up the Master List around now and see if there's anything coming up we want to join (in October in this case)...

What is the purpose of the buddy read trackers folder? Are the trackers that have different people’s name on it for tracking the buddy read’s you plan to join for the upcoming year? I see there are only 65 entries. Does this mean this area is not really in use anymore? https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

JL wrote: "What is the purpose of the buddy read trackers folder? Are the trackers that have different people’s name on it for tracking the buddy read’s you plan to join for the upcoming year? I see there are..."

It was used in the past by people that wanted somewhere, in the group, to keep track of all their Buddy Reads (we still do a fair amount of Buddy Reads around here, but there was one point in 2018, where there were 30+ going on each month)...

2018 was also when the group started doing the Team Reading Competition, a fun little competition that increases engagement a bit, and also comes with a nifty spreadsheet for points tallying... alot of people just keep track of their Buddy Reads on there now, I think, since you can input data without triggering point calculations, as long as you don't input what day you read it until you're done...

People that don't participate in that (need 100 comments in group, as a sign you'll be sticking around actively), or who just like having an in-group reference, still use that folder I think...

This is what the spreadsheet looks like:



There are a number of simple and complicated color schemes floating around on there. This is just one example...

JL wrote: "What is the purpose of the buddy read trackers folder? Are the trackers that have different people’s name on it for tracking the buddy read’s you plan to join for the upcoming year? I see there are..."

I still use my buddy read tracker. I like it for keeping track of the buddy reads I'm joining and also it's nice to go back and see the record of what I read in the past. I only use the spread sheet for the team reading competition.

I still use my buddy read tracker, helps me remember if I say I'll read something with someone! :)

Same! I keep mine bookmarked as my base of operations. I like having one place to compile links to past BRs, as well as future ones.

I also keep a list of books there I want to read, so if someone wants to do a BR together, then I can just link them to the tracker and they can see if they are interested in any of those, or check out our mutual to-read lists.

Thank you! Since I am under 100, I will set aside some time to get organized.

Hello everyone!

There is a new Buddy read Invite thread that we will be using from now on. Follow this link to plan your future reads!

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

Hi! I’m an architecture student and I’m doing my thesis on creating a visual representation of a fictional structure (castle, building, like hogwarts, or the maze in Maze Runner, etc) and I need your help finding a book that really describes a fictional place like that. The thing is that it can’t be a book that's already a film because there is already a visual representation of that.
Any suggestion is appreciated! thank you very much!!