EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

Hi all! This space is for moderator support, feedback and a space where we can discuss any updates to the mod team.

Thanks all!

Thank you Joanna, you are doing a solid job! Appreciate you :)

Thank you Joanna and Marcos for rising to the occasion! :)

Yes, big thank you to you and Marcos for stepping up and stepping in! I love this group so thank you for taking care of it :)

Glad to see the group back up and running! Thanks to both of you!

Thank you Joanna and Marcos for taking what could have been a terrible situation and making it work. You've been exhibiting grace and kindness and I appreciate that. I do hope our missing moderator knows that she's not being kicked out, but that she's missed and wanted back.

Great comment, Catherine, I've been hoping too that whatever Kasey is dealing with is improving and that she will be able to come back soon at some level. I know Marcos & Joanna have verbalized that too. We do appreciate their help so much!

I join the other members of the group in thanking you guys for stepping up to the challenge!
We're here in case you need any help, just let us know.

Kasey: We hope everything sorts out soon. We miss you!

I'm so happy everything was resolved and that this amazing group will continue on! I honestly just stopped going to the group page because I felt depressed every time I saw no new update, but I held on hope and didn't leave the group. Thank you guys for being strong willed and working the GR administrators to get new Mods!
And congrats Marco and Joanna! You guys will do great! To be honest, when I first joined I thought Marco was an administrator! He was always helping everyone out!

Kasey, hope we sincerely hope to see you back when you feel up to it!

☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "I'm so happy everything was resolved and that this amazing group will continue on! I honestly just stopped going to the group page because I felt depressed every time I saw no new update, but I hel..."

Daniela, I felt the same way every time I saw that page - it was like time just stopped.

I love the proactive can-do energy. It's bringing back the vibrancy that made this group strong. I'm happy for Kasey that she's getting some time to focus on her life, without having to worry about her group. She created something awesome, and I hope she'll be proud of it when she's ready to come back.

Thanks all! I echo the sentiments on Kasey and hope if and when she does come back, she sees this to know her return will be very welcome.

—*—*—*—*—*—

The next task that will need volunteers will be the October nominations threads. I will be looking for volunteers to check my math as I did mistakenly exclude one book for September.

Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Thanks all! I echo the sentiments on Kasey and hope if and when she does come back, she sees this to know her return will be very welcome.

—*—*—*—*—*—

The next task that will need volunteers will..."

For the sake of helping out, you can count me in, but only as a last resort. Anyone else is welcome to take the spot, because I tend to procrastinate and only use goodreads at work. But if no one else steps up, I'll help out as best as I can. I really do love this group, its the only group I ever felt truly a part of.

Joanna, once Kasey made a mistake as well. :-) Dont' worry.

Then I suggested her to do something I did on a photography group I moderated: always post the suggestion count before the final result. So, everyone could have a look at , check it and quickly point to any eventual mistake. She liked the idea and started doing that.

It is easier than having one or a few volunteers. We'll have a lot. :-)

I'll find one of these messages for you to have a look.

She used a spreadsheet, I don't know exactly which one, but I guess she would fill the cells along the nomination process, then she'd have the sum and other results, and would post it.

See mesages 99 and 100 here, for instance:

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

NancyJ wrote: " ☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "I'm so happy everything was resolved and that this amazing group will continue on! I honestly just stopped going to the group page because I felt depressed every time..."

I love this comment, Nancy. I agree that the inclusive, "come as you are" atmosphere in the group is something that Kasey created, maybe a result of the unpretentious premise of this group. We admit something we wish we could do/ understand better or more of, don't pretend to be something we're not, so it brings some barriers down. I hope that's how it will always be here!

Marcos wrote: "Joanna, once Kasey made a mistake as well. :-) Dont' worry.

Then I suggested her to do something I did on a photography group I moderated: always post the suggestion count before the final result...."

Thanks Marcos :)

I thought there was a time when one didn’t get included. If I recall correctly, Kasey gave it an automatic bid for the next month. Does that sound right for?

Ok, I will just wait a day before posting the polls and give everyone a chance to review if desired.

There is an automatic way to count the books mentioned in topic, given that everyone who wants to nominate or second a book uses "add book/author" feature.

Maybe with the increase number of members it would be good to force using "add book/author" in order for the nomination to count. And then you can simply click "Books Mentioned in Topic" on the right side and it counts it for you :)

That's a good idea, Zainab. I had never thought of that! :-) I and Joanna could check that and think about adopting your suggestion.

Well, one problem might be that not everyone easily deals with the site resources like "add book author".

☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Thanks all! I echo the sentiments on Kasey and hope if and when she does come back, she sees this to know her return will be very welcome.

—*—*—*—*—*—

The next task t..."

Thank you for your willingness to help! I think, after the other suggestions, I am feeling better about how to handle the next round, so no pressure on you to volunteer.

Zainab wrote: "There is an automatic way to count the books mentioned in topic, given that everyone who wants to nominate or second a book uses "add book/author" feature.

Maybe with the increase number of member..."

Great suggestion! I think due to the app not a requirement but a strong suggestion maybe.

If it can't be used by app users, and therefore can't be a requirement, it may not be be of much use. The sum of every book's nominations won't be right, and it wll probaly be confusing to try to identify who didn't use the "add book" and then add them.

It may be easier to make a sounder count from the beginning. Just thinking.

This might be a dumb question that isn't possible, but is there a way that we can have polls that have where users can slect books to nominate/add and if they want to second you can vote for what is already added, but still be able to add 1 book of your own as well? That's probably not a feature, but in my head it sounds good.

There isn't. :-)

Sorry, Jessica. More automatization would allow many other organization processes, but we have to go with the existing tools in GR.

On the other hand, one interesting thing I've always enjoyed in the group is that the nomination being a discussion where you must write, not just press a button, it brings more interaction. And some interaction is good. The world is getting too automated. :-)

Good point Marcos!

Oh I didn't realize you can't "add book" in the app! It is a deal breaker then :(
Back to relying on the good old human power :D

I still had to answer some of you here, so here it goes!

Thank you Jessica, lethe, Diane, Catherine, Susan, Satrina, Daniella and NancyJ for posting here and for your words.

As for Kasey, yes, like Catherine said, we all hope she is back some day. I even sent her a message a day or two before the GR staff made us moderators, telling her what we were doing, so that she'd know, but granting she is most welcome back anytime! By the way, GR staff were careful enough not to remove her from the moderator status, that was nice.

☆*:.｡. ＤＡＮＩＥＬＡ .｡.:*☆ wrote: "I'm so happy everything was resolved and that this amazing group will continue on! ......

To be honest, when I first joined I thought Marco was an administrator! He was always helping everyone out! "

Well, you know, actually other members thought so as well! :-) But I was just doing what anyone can do, like helping members, and also some jobs I noticed could be done even not being a mod. For example, helping with tracking the Alphabet Soup Challenge, checking the sum in the Relay Race Challenge, etc.

Maybe that was a kind of co-moderation being tested without us all knowing. :-) I'm developing an idea on sharing jobs a bit more, I'll discuss it with Joanna, then present it to you all. No hurry.

Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "I thought there was a time when one didn’t get included. If I recall correctly, Kasey gave it an automatic bid for the next month. Does that sound right for?..."

Yes, it happened like that. It's OK. But after she started publishing the results in advance it was much easier, because everyone was sharply scrutinizing the sums, especially when your own chosen book was among the first ones! :-)

One very important thing to be noticed

The poll with the most voters for September had roughly 700 voters. That is among the most successful votes ever in the group!!

We might have had a significant drop in participating members, because of the recent hiatus in the group operation, as some feared. I, on the contrary, was always very confident of the group sense of community, friendship and wish to continue, and was thus certain we'd manage to!

So, thank you all participating and valued members, for being here, being supportive and keeping our group and its spirit alive!

Marcos wrote: "One very important thing to be noticed

The poll with the most voters for September had roughly 700 voters. That is among the most successful votes ever in the group!!

We might have had a signific..."

That's awesome! I am glad we had a good vote! And October we'll have a more normal amount of time to get the books, so we're just about back to a normal BOTM routine.

Marcos wrote: "One very important thing to be noticed

The poll with the most voters for September had roughly 700 voters. That is among the most successful votes ever in the group!!

We might have had a signific..."

That’s great news! I’m happy that the group is back on track - thanks to Marcos & Joanna’s willingness to step in & give their time to us all.

great news! Thanks Marcos and Joanna, for stepping up to help out!

Great news, keep up the good work!

Question for longtime members: when do the next month featured reads typically get posted? At the beginning of the month? I don’t recall.

Joanna, we don't remember that well because after a long time following a certain schedule, Kasey started experimenting and on the last two or three months was making some changes. :-)

You don't need to worry too much. You're doing quite well and in a a short time we'll be back on track on a regular schedule again.

We used to have the polls around two months before the reading month. I liked that because it gave us all enough time to get the books.

On the present schedule for October, nominations end on August 25. If you manage to keep tracking so well, it won't take long to know the books making it into the polls. Then a few days may be needed for setting the polls. I suggest the polls open as soon as possible, between August 26 and September 1. So that we can have the books chosen by the end of the first week of September or earlier.

Was this what you meant to ask? :-)

I'll dig my archives anyway, in the next days, to find more.

Marcos wrote: "Joanna, we don't remember that well because after a long time following a certain schedule, Kasey started experimenting and on the last two or three months was making some changes. :-)

You don't n..."

Hi Marcos, I left out some key words in my question! But I was curious about the pre-read & spoiler discussion threads. Should they get posted a couple of weeks before the months start?

But, that was all great info! I was thinking that same timeframe for the polls, allowing a day to double-check the numbers.

All right! As to the discussion threads, they're published just at the start of the reading month, not weeks before.

Another very important thing to be noticed

We have just reached 135 posts and 616 views in the Classics nomination thread for October!

The best nomination post count so far is the March 2018 one, with 136 posts. And the best months in views were around an average of 350.

What means this is about to be our best month ever in terms of participation in the discussion for the BOTM! A great recovery, no doubt!

Once more, thank you all participating members! Let's keep the group going and great!

Please be sure to set up different ways to remind ppl of upcoming reads ahead of time. A newsletter is great, but posting (and then locking) the pre-read thread, as soon as the poll results are in, is also a good idea. The link to that thread can then be the last post in the nomination thread, which can then be locked.

A general folder that summarizes 'what are we doing this month' would also be a big help, imo. I mean, Latest Group Announcements is almost what I mean, but too inclusive and vague, I think maybe.

Just my humble opinions. I'm actually fine with everything you're doing and very appreciative.

Cheryl wrote: "Please be sure to set up different ways to remind ppl of upcoming reads ahead of time. A newsletter is great, but posting (and then locking) the pre-read thread, as soon as the poll results are in,..."

Thanks Cheryl! Definitely will do the locking of the nomination thread, with info on the winner. I did wonder about posting discussion threads early. Locking and then unlocking them when it’s their month seems like a good option. Or maybe just a Next Up thread or BOTM general thread within the Currently reading thread.

I think the Group Announcements is where what we are doing needs to be featured or replace it with a “current events” type thread. I don’t think both are needed, but the wording can be worked on definitely. Will consider how best to do this and appreciate your feedback. Thanks!

Marcos wrote: "Another very important thing to be noticed

We have just reached 135 posts and 616 views in the Classics nomination thread for October!

The best nomination post count so far is the March 2018 one..."

Fantastic. That is great news.

Joanna Loves Reading wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Please be sure to set up different ways to remind ppl of upcoming reads ahead of time. A newsletter is great, but posting (and then locking) the pre-read thread, as soon as the poll ..."

A group announcement - with a link to the discussion thread - is the easiest way to alert new members. We have a lot of regulars here who frequently check the group home page, where the upcoming and current reads are clearly displayed. You just have to remember to update the group bookshelf (change to-read to currently reading) on the day you want to start.

I use pre-read threads in my group, and it's a nice way to share information about the book (different editions or translations,* good deals, audio, library waits), and get a sense of who is reading and when. Often people who already read the book will make (usually positive) comments to help people who might be undecided about that particular book. I don't lock the threads, but my group is very new and it's much smaller (399 today), so it's easier to manage the discussions. I personally have only seen locked threads on discussions that were finished, so it might confuse people. The pre-read becomes the first thread, and I add the spoiler thread when the official time period begins.

Without a pre-read thread, the groups I've been in often used the nomination thread or poll comments for info sharing discussions.

*Speaking of translations and editions:
Has anyone here read War and Peace in a group? If so, can you send me a link? Some editions (or translations, and ebooks) have different parts/books/chapters and it's hard to line up our sections for a multi-month read. Maybe someone else already mapped it out.

Hello everyone, I stopped participating in this group as I found it very sad when there were no updates (I think someone mentioned earlier how it was depressing & that's what I found too). But checking back today I was so happy to see that the group is running so well. The new mods have saved the day & they have brought it all back to life. Thank you so much. I like all the books you've picked & I'm really keen to join in with the Rebecca read especially. Hooray for the new mods! x

Thanks, Catriona! Good to have you back!

9 thousand!

We've just gone past the 9K mark in membership! I was looking at it, but as usual, I just forget for a short time and... there it goes! :-)

We're 9,080 members right now! If we keep attracting new people, that's another good sign of the group heaving recovered and keeping successful!

Thank you all for the continuing support!

Can I post my question about how to add a book to GR here? Can you do that for me?
For example a book 'Jakov postaje superjunak' https://www.superknjizara.hr/?page=kn...
has ISBN but I can't add it to books I read.

I can, or one of the other librarians in the group. But as I can't read a good part of that page (I suppose that's Croatian :-), please help me and let me know who's who - or what - there. Or at least the info you can provide.

title
author (s)
ISBN
publisher
published date
number of pages
format (paperback, etc.)
edition
Official URL
description
language
cover image

thank you, yes, that is Croatian:-)

title: Jakov postaje superjunak
author (s): Seda Darcan Ciftci, Gustavo Mazali (illustrator), Maja Opačić (translator)
ISBN 978-953-291-521-1
original edition publisher: Kaknus Publishing, Istanbul
croatian edition publisher: Zadar : Forum, 2014
number of pages: 16 pages
format (paperback, etc.): hard copy
edition language: Croatian
cover image

I don`t know how to put cover image:-(

Marcos, since this is not the only book that I would like to add to GR, I wouldn`t like to abuse your courtesy and ask for your help all the time- is there possibly a place on GR where I can write those infos on the book and someone (librarian) can add it?