Into the Forest discussion

It is time to nominate books for the next January 15-March 14 group read!
Everyone can nominate 3 books:
One Young Adult Novel
One Adult Novel
One collection of Original/Traditional tales or one long tale
All books should contain, be inspired by or retell fairy tales, folklore, legends or myths .
Please nominate books that you would like to read and talk about yourself or that you have resently read and wish to discuss.
Another consideration is books should be available.
So please nominate away!

How long will this round be open for nominations?

Leah wrote: "How long will this round be open for nominations?"

In the past it was a week but because 1. A week from now is Christmas Day and 2. We are not doing themed group reads and more I was thinking of more time. I just went ahead and posted before deciding!
How about Polls go up Thursday December 27 and stay open until January 3? That will hopefully give everyone enough time to order books.

How about we read about those "who returned through the portals"? If you haven't already read "Every Heart A Doorway" by Seanan McGuire, then I nominate that for the "Adult Read" even though it's a novella. And, for the YA Novel, "The Light Between Worlds" by Laura E. Weymouth is recent, and it follows the same plot, children return to Earth after living in another world.

As for the "original/traditional" tales, so far I can only think of "Of Mules and Men" by Zora Neale Hurston.

This isn't in accordance with the returning through portals theme. I have a YA retelling on top of my library TBR that I want to nominate.

It's Reflection: A Twisted Tale by Elizabeth Lim. It's a re-telling of Mulan by an Asian American writer. A Twisted Tale isn't a series in the sense of being a continuous story with sequels. They are un-related re-tellings. I love the concept of Mulan going to the Underworld. I'm looking forward to lots of Chinese lore.

Lois wrote: "How about we read about those "who returned through the portals"? If you haven't already read "Every Heart A Doorway" by Seanan McGuire, then I nominate that for the "Adult Read" even though it's a..."

Great idea and the books look interesting! Please though next time highlight the books by clicking on the "add book/author" feature above! That way everyone can just click on it to read about them and it also makes it easier for us moderators!
So this is what we have so far:
Every Heart a Doorway
The Light Between Worlds
Mules and Men

Reflection: A Twisted Tale

YA: Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall - a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey

Adult: The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge

Collection: Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Leah wrote: "YA: Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall - a magical Mexican American retelling of The Odyssey

Adult: The Snow Queen by Joan D...."</i>


[book:Summer of the Mariposas looks soooooo good!
The Snow Queen seemed familiar, so I did a search and see we had a buddy read for it in 2014. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Not many people participated, so as far as Im concerned, I'm okay with it as long as Margaret, Melanti and Chris are too.

Jalilah wrote: "The Snow Queen seemed familiar, so I did a search and see we had a buddy read for it in 2014..."

Yeah, I saw that. I was hoping since not many in the buddy read (including me) actually read it, that it might be okay.

If not, no worries. Just let me know and I'll nominate something else.

For traditional-original tales I nominate The Arabian Nights II: Sindbad and Other Popular Stories
Adult Novel White as Snow by Tanith Lee
For YA I will try again for Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson

I'm fine with Snow Queen by Vinge being nominated!

Jalilah wrote: "Lois wrote: "How about we read about those "who returned through the portals"? If you haven't already read "Every Heart A Doorway" by Seanan McGuire, then I nominate that for the "Adult Read" even ..."

Thanks for telling me how to do it! I'll remember for the next nomination!

YA: Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon

Original: Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane

How about Katherine Arden's upcoming novel, The Winter of the Witch It's due out on Jan. 8th and completes the trilogy comprising her two previous books, The Bear and the Nightingale, and, The Girl in the Tower.

Well, let's see how they'll fare this time

Adult: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

YA: Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton - the story gives off the vibe of Beauty and the Beast and "East of the Sun and West of the Moon". Set in the most famous Andre Norton's cycle "Witch World".

Traditional: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio byPu Songling

"Beauty and the Beast" was in fact Norton's inspiration.

Adult: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. Says it's historical fiction and magical realism, about storytelling and oral folklore. Sounds interesting! I haven't read her before, but know she's popular.

YA: I've been really wanting to read a lot of the noms so far, so I'll pass on this one

Traditional: Korean Children's Favorite Stories by Kim So-un. I've been wanting to read more Asian fairy tales, and I've never read a collection of Korean tales before.

Mary wrote: ""Beauty and the Beast" was in fact Norton's inspiration."

Thanks for info. Good to know :)

Margaret wrote: "Adult: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. Says it's historical fiction and magical realism, about storytelling and oral folklore. Sounds interesting! I haven't r..."

Do you know any other Asian fairy tale collections?

I've read:
Mongolian Folktales by Hilary Roe Metternich and Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki.

I've also seen (but haven't read): Tales of a Korean Grandmother: 32 Traditional Tales from Korea by Frances Carpenter, and all of Lafcadio Hearn.

There's also Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, though I'd rather read them from an Indian author/editor.

Oh, I've read Indian Fairy Tales by Maive Stokes.

I'm surprised I can't think of any Chinese fairy tale collections.

Asaria wrote: "Do you know any other Asian fairy tale collections?"

If you check out our group bookshelf there are several tags for Asian countries and each tag shelf has at least a few collections. Go to https://www.goodreads.com/group/books... and then look along the left side for the tags.

Margaret wrote: "I'm surprised I can't think of any Chinese fairy tale collections."

Here's one I own/read: The Chinese Fairy Book by Richard Wilhelm.

Like with the Indian Fairy Tales collection you listed, the above is collected and edited by someone who was not Chinese, but he did speak Chinese and lived in China for some years (if I recall correctly).

Leah wrote: "Here's one I own/read: The Chinese Fairy Book by Richard Wilhelm."

I think I've seen that one come into work before.

Leah wrote: "Asaria wrote: "Do you know any other Asian fairy tale collections?"

If you check out our group bookshelf there are several tags for Asian countries and each tag shelf has at least a few collection..."

I liked the Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki. it provides interesting facts about the first novel written by a woman in Japan in the 12th Century. The Bamboo Princess was sweet and rather whimsical. You can also watch it on U Tube.

Carole wrote: "Leah wrote: "Asaria wrote: "Do you know any other Asian fairy tale collections?"

If you check out our group bookshelf there are several tags for Asian countries and each tag shelf has at least a f..."
Thanks for suggestions; I read Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora. I can't say now, why I didn't like it back then. As for "The bamboo princess", I've meant to watch it for many years.


Margaret wrote: "I've read:
Mongolian Folktales by Hilary Roe Metternich and Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki.

I've also seen (but haven't re..."

Availability, availability. It's my greatest enemy.


Leah wrote: "Here's one I own/read: The Chinese Fairy Book by Richard Wilhelm"

Whose tales often comes from classical Chinese texts like Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.


Other Asian collections I know:
Folktales Of Bhutan by Kunzang Choden
Kitsune: Japan's Fox of Mystery, Romance & Humor - a bit more scholarly, but author gives plenty of stories
Panchatantra by Vishnu Sharma - classic Indian collection of animal tales

Philippine Folk Tales by Mabel Cook Cole

By the way, you might find this interesting:
Chitra - A Play in One Act by Rabindranath Tagore - it's a play that retells Mahabharata's Chitra, the warrior queen and her love to Arjuna. By Indian nobel laureate.

Those all look excellent, thanks Asaria!

I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Christmas and holiday! I discovered that Christmas with a toddler is a lot more fun.

Last call for nominations! Here's what we have so far:

Adult:
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
White as Snow by Tanith Lee
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield


YA:
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth
Reflection by Elizabeth Lim
Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton

Traditional:
Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston
Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill
The Arabian Nights II: Sindbad and Other Popular Stories by Husain Haddawy
Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane
Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling
Korean Children's Favorite Stories by Kim So-un

--Note to Lois: I've read Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire, and it's YA. Since I didn't have a YA pick, I used it as my own pick, so it's still in this list, just as YA instead of adult.

Polls will go up sometime tomorrow, so if you'd like to add any, now's your chance!

What a lineup! Plenty to choose from here.

Katy wrote: "What a lineup! Plenty to choose from here."

I agree! I'm especially going to have trouble with the YA choice. 4 have been on my TBR radar for a while, one of which I have an ARC of. And then Summer of the Mariposas I'd never heard of, but sounds interesting. It's going to be a difficult choice!

We may need to set up some buddy reads!

I was thinking of un-nominating Son of a Trickster if it's not available in the U.S.
Does anyone know? There's no point in having it in there if people can't get a copy.

Jalilah wrote: "I was thinking of un-nominating Son of a Trickster if it's not available in the U.S.
Does anyone know? There's no point in having it in there if people can't get a copy."

It's possible to get it from Amazon U.S., but not from U.S. libraries.

Jalilah wrote: "I was thinking of un-nominating Son of a Trickster if it's not available in the U.S.
Does anyone know? There's no point in having it in there if people can't get a copy."

What Shomeret said.

Do you want to still include it? I'll admit, I won't read it if it's unavailable at the library.

Jalilah wrote: "I was thinking of un-nominating Son of a Trickster if it's not available in the U.S.
Does anyone know? There's no point in having it in there if people can't get a copy."

It's being only available to purchase is the only reason I haven't read it before now (limited book budget). :-(

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I was thinking of un-nominating Son of a Trickster if it's not available in the U.S.
Does anyone know? There's no point in having it in there if people can't get a copy."

What Sho..."

Okay we can take it out, but if there is ever interest we could have a buddy read and I'd most certainly participate!

Group polls are up! Voting stays open until January 3rd.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/3...

I made a mistake and hid the poll results until after the entire voting process ends. I know some of us like to switch out votes if there's a tie or a close tie, so I'll post an update here on January 1st or 2nd about how many votes each book has.

Sorry about that! Enough people have voted that I don't want to delete the entire poll.

Margaret wrote: "I made a mistake and hid the poll results until after the entire voting process ends. I know some of us like to switch out votes if there's a tie or a close tie, so I'll post an update here on Janu..."

Does the poll have to be deleted to make the results visible?
The main reason I like to check in on the voting process is curiosity, as well as what you say about being able to switch votes to break a tie.

Margaret wrote: "I made a mistake and hid the poll results until after the entire voting process ends. I know some of us like to switch out votes if there's a tie or a close tie, so I'll post an update here on Janu..."

You can just edit the poll because you created it. On the top right of the poll page there is "edit this poll." You can change it from there. It will not erase the results so far.

It is possible to edit it without removing the votes. There's a checkbox. But I've bungled it a few times myself.

Thanks for all you do. I am quite good with not knowing the count until it's tabulated.

Thank you Katy, it's fixed! I didn't realize I needed to go to "comments and details" to find the "edit this poll" option. I thought there must be a way.

:)

Margaret wrote: "Thank you Katy, it's fixed! I didn't realize I needed to go to "comments and details" to find the "edit this poll" option. I thought there must be a way."

Sorry Margaret! I should have known this, but it never came up before! You're doing a great job! No one showed her how to do anything!

Because it looks like it might win I ordered Once Upon a River from from my library, but there is a cue of 171 people ahead of me!

Jalilah wrote: "Because it looks like it might win I ordered Once Upon a River from from my library, but there is a cue of 171 people ahead of me!"

105 holds at my library.

Gift card from my in-laws to the bookstore for Christmas so I picked it up 

Wow, such a long queue! I have an advanced reader's copy.

The polls close tonight, and we have a very close race in YA. A tie between Every Heart a Doorway and Summer of the Mariposas, with The Light Between Worlds one vote less. If anyone wants to break the tie or change their vote, now's your last chance!

And our winners are:

Adult: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Young Adult: A tie! Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire AND Summer of the Mariposas by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Traditional/Collection: Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Discussions commence January 15th and end March 14th. So get thee to a library (or however you acquire your books).

Margaret wrote: "And our winners are:

Adult: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Young Adult: A tie! Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire AND ..."

Yay!
Unfortunately the waiting list for Once Upon a River is humongous (I am #174 on 3 copies! ), so I'm not sure if I'll read it, but I'm hopefully I'll read the two YA winners and the tale collection.

I've put a hold on Once Upon a River, but I'm #103 in line!

Hopefully we'll all be able to read it! I'll save it until last.

I had to put a hold on Fierce Fairytales as well. It's a 6 week wait.

I've already read Every Heart a Doorway, but I'm looking forward to Summer of the Mariposas!