Into the Forest discussion

Hi everyone!

It's been a rough year for a lot of us, and I hope everyone is doing well.

Jalilah and I have noticed that participation has been a bit down lately, and we wanted to open up a conversation with all of you to decide what you'd like from this group.

Do you like the group reads? Would you like to continue them? Would it be better if there were fewer books each time?

Would you like to nix group reads altogether and have discussions about other fairytale/mythology topics?

Would you like to start your own threads about books you're reading?

Anything else? If you're in other groups, what do you enjoy in those other groups?

I'd love to hear your ideas! I value this group and everyone in it, and I want it to be a fun place for all of us.

Thank you!

Hi! As someone who's disappeared from this group of late, I'd be happy to participate in more discussion threads not centered around group reads. I never meant to vanish completely, and always wanted to get back into the group reads and discussions, but I've found in the last year or two that I just can't commit to reading specific books in any given time frame anymore, and checking in on current group reads was stressing me out.

I also know that I'm far from the only person in the online book community who's been losing patience with Goodreads as a platform overall. There are still a number of features of the site tying me here, but some other groups I was in have made the switch over to Discord as their primary platform. I personally still find Discord a little confusing to use, but maybe that could something to consider as a supplement to the Goodreads group?

I do love the group reads, and especially the great book ideas I get through the nomination process. I realize I have been less active lately.

I would enjoy discussion about tale/mythology topics, I used to really enjoy reading the Tale of the Month discussions. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Thanks Kelsey and Katy!

No one should feel guilty at all for not participating in discussions, or stressed about it. :) Life has been so intense the last couple of years for everyone. I agree that Goodreads isn't user friendly and I've been losing some patience with it as well, but it's still the best platform for keeping track of all my books and I use it for work in addition to this group.

I'm making a note about Tales of the Month! And having discussions about different topics in general.

I'm not so sure about Discord. I know this platform is clunky, but adding yet another social app that I use feels a little exhausting for me personally, but I also don't want to nix the idea either.

Thank you for starting up this thread Margaret!
Kelsey, I second Margaret on this, no one should feel obliged, guilty or stressed about not participating in group reads!
I myself have not participated in a number of them either because I had read the books already or my library did not have them and I did not to purchase them.
Personally I think a group does not need to have regular group reads to stay interesting. I mean we could still have them, but they need not be the main focus of this group. They were actually never meant to be the main focus. It is possible for group members to start up their own threads or topics and in the past we moderators have always encouraged this.

Kathy, I completely forgot about the tales of the month! I think I had just joined the group when they had them and was not yet a moderator. Do you remember how the tales were chosen?

I'm not sure about another platform and have never heard of Discord. I'm open to another one, but not knowledgeable enough about them to be of any help.
I have also over the years heard people voice their complaints about goodreads as a platform.
It is possible to have a group on Facebook but I imagine it would much less structured, no polls for group reads etc.

The tales of month I just randomly chose and posted a starter post. I can start doing that again.

Margaret wrote: "I value this group and everyone in it..."

Me too, very much. I have been introduced to so many new (to me) authors and titles from members' recommendations and through the reading challenge.

I only occasionally engage with the group reads. I'm more likely to do so with the non-fiction titles, or with those books which challenge my thinking/make me think in a new way - where I want to check/discuss my interpretation with other people. But I have added books to my TBRs based on a group read discussion of a book I wasn't intending to read.

Our Group Reads are less rigid than I've seen in other groups - and I like it that way. By that I mean you just give the timeframe for reading the book, without the stress of milestones (usually page numbers) we should have achieved by a certain date.

Am I right in thinking members can set up their own discussion within the group already?

Mods, you do a grand job!

Yes, you can start your own thread.

First of all: thank you to the Moderators for all you do! I enjoy this group, read the posts & make many notes to self of books for future reading. I have been continuously behind on the group reads since the pandemic began so I have not posted much.

Hi Amanda, as Christine said, yes absolutely people can start their own threads! In fact, I used to always mention this when I sent out group emails.
So I am getting the feeling it's not necessarily to have the 3 book group reads every 2 months. I agree. This would not mean there would be no more group reads, rather they would be less organized, for instance if a few people wanted to read a certain book together they could just set up a thread themselves. We have that already with "buddy reads"

We could also just do 1 book every 3 months and have more buddy reads if/when people want.

And then we could set up threads for tales of the month, or other discussion topics.

Margaret wrote: "We could also just do 1 book every 3 months and have more buddy reads if/when people want.

And then we could set up threads for tales of the month, or other discussion topics."

That all sounds good too!
Edited to add instead of polls we could perhaps just get a consensus in a thread. That way we can avoid people voting for books they won't read

I'm just not reading as much in general. I've been forcing myself to finish books, even books that I'm enjoying.

This year's challenge has been fun.

Maybe more challenges for next year?

ETA:I do like this group, I've found so many good books, and no drama. Very well run.

Ozsaur wrote: "I'm just not reading as much in general. I've been forcing myself to finish books, even books that I'm enjoying.

This year's challenge has been fun.

Maybe more challenges for next year?

ETA:I d..."

I agree we should absolutely continue challenges!
Thanks for your kind words!
They mean a lot!

Margaret wrote: "We could also just do 1 book every 3 months and have more buddy reads if/when people want."

I'd be interested in reading some of the longer nonfiction or collections of tales this way.

I do like having multiple books to choose from to read, but I'll admit I usually only read one of the choices.

Katy wrote: "I do like having multiple books to choose from to read, but I'll admit I usually only read one of the choices."

I'm the exact same. Often, I've already read at least one of the books that win, and then they'll be another unavailable at the library.

Ozsaur wrote: "ETA:I do like this group, I've found so many good books, and no drama. Very well run."

Thank you! :) I have a toddler so get all the drama I can handle in life.

I think the challenges have been one of my favorite parts of the group the last couple of years.

I try to keep up with group reads as I always like the discussions afterwards, but often it's hard for me to get my hands on the books on time or to start reading them at the right time. Plus lately, with everything going on in the world, I've kinda gone into hibernation mode and have distanced myself from most social media, including Goodreads. :( So basically, I do like doing group reads, and this is my favorite group and the one I participate in the most, but also you may not be able to count on me to be very active. :/

I'm always on the lookout for more books based on fairy tales, myths and legends. The recommendation threads for the 2021 challenge have been helpful, and I've found several books that way. Maybe a themed recommendation thread every quarter?

Ozsaur wrote: "I'm always on the lookout for more books based on fairy tales, myths and legends. The recommendation threads for the 2021 challenge have been helpful, and I've found several books that way. Maybe a..."

Themed recommendations is a good idea. We could tie it into Tales of the Month.

Kirsten wrote: "I try to keep up with group reads as I always like the discussions afterwards, but often it's hard for me to get my hands on the books on time or to start reading them at the right time. Plus latel..."

Yes, I suspect a lot of members have had to distant themselves from social media lately. Thank you for participating when you do!

I find Goodreads so challenging to use on my phone. Sometimes I can’t tell if it actually posted or not. So often I just give up on engaging! I wouldn’t suggest switching to another platform though - I just need to be more persistent with it. As far as actual content, I have enjoyed it!

Teallia wrote: "I find Goodreads so challenging to use on my phone. Sometimes I can’t tell if it actually posted or not. So often I just give up on engaging! I wouldn’t suggest switching to another platform though..."

The Goodreads app is terrible. It's practically unusable for me.

I haven't been active in this group in a while. I think part of the reason is I am more interested in mythology than in fairy tales. I enjoy reading theory about fairy tales, books that contain analysis and show how so many reinforce gender stereotypes. But I'm not really too interested in retelling of fairy tales.

I will read just about anything on mythology--retellings, analysis, interpretations. As some of you know, I've written a couple of retellings of various myths, myself.

I don't get involved in group reads because either the book doesn't appeal, or I can't find it, or I'm swamped with other stuff. But I do keep checking in to see what you're reading and what books are recommended because I get some good tips from you.

I guess all I really want to say is I do enjoy the group and appreciate all the great work the moderators put into keep it running. I know the group focus is on both fairy tales and myths, and I'm not suggesting for one second you change anything on my account. I just wanted you to know why I may not be very active. I'm still here, waving frantically, tagging along, and reading the posts.

Thanks for all you do.

Tamara wrote: "I haven't been active in this group in a while. I think part of the reason is I am more interested in mythology than in fairy tales. I enjoy reading theory about fairy tales, books that contain ana..."

Following on from Tamara's comments, I would like to see more discussion of myths, legends, folklore, etc. from different cultures. I do appreciate, however, that not all publications are available in translation.

We're a multicultural group, it would be lovely to really harness that aspect.

Tamara wrote: "I haven't been active in this group in a while. I think part of the reason is I am more interested in mythology than in fairy tales. I enjoy reading theory about fairy tales, books that contain ana..."

Amanda wrote: "Tamara wrote: "I haven't been active in this group in a while. I think part of the reason is I am more interested in mythology than in fairy tales. I enjoy reading theory about fairy tales, books t..."


Thank you so much for your feedback!
Yes this group is supposed to be for mythology, legends, folklore and fairytales but we end up reading more fairy tales. I for one am interested in learning more about mythology. I discovered Mesopotamian mythology thanks to you Tamara,
Again I encourage group members to be active, start up their own threads, make suggestions etc. In the past I've mentioned this so many times that I stopped because I thought I was being too redundant! Th same goes for people being able to join the group reads late! People can absolutely comment on older threads!
I like the suggestion of maybe just having one every 3 months or just one book.
I suggest instead of creating polls maybe we can set up a permanent thread called something like "What book would you like to read in a group". People can mention books and if enough members reply yes they want to, then we can determine when and just set up a thread. That way we won't have people voting for books they don't intend to read. ( nothing against all you lurkers! I just don't want people to vote for books when they have no intention of reading or participating!)

Any thoughts?

I'll admit, I'm more of a fairytale reader, but I do love mythology too. There are a lot of mythology novels I want to read but haven't had a chance to yet!

Jalilah, how about we give it a try, having an open thread of people suggesting books, and if there's enough interest in a book, then it will be a group read. We can give it a try once, and if it seems to work, then we'll keep doing that.

If people prefer polls, let us know!

Christine can start doing some tales of the month (I'm more than happy to pitch in too), and I might start book list threads every now and then too. And of course, anyone here can start a their own threads! If you don't know how or rather I'd do it on a topic, just message me.

Christine wrote: "The tales of month I just randomly chose and posted a starter post. I can start doing that again."

Christine that would be great if you could start that up again!

Amanda wrote: "Following on from Tamara's comments, I would like to see more discussion of myths, legends, folklore, etc. from different cultures. I do appreciate, however, that not all publications are available in translation.

We're a multicultural group, it would be lovely to really harness that aspect."
I second that! . We have some bilingual members (myself included) who have access to many books unavailable due to no English translation. It would be fun to share more stories with you :)


Well, I've been much less active recently due to real life drama - job burnout , burnout by books, and at top of that I'll be moving out from my home town Częstochowa to Kraków soon.

Have a safe and uneventful move, Asaria.

Katy wrote: "Have a safe and uneventful move, Asaria."

Thanks!

Amanda wrote: "We're a multicultural group, it would be lovely to really harness that aspect..."

Asaria wrote: "..I second that! . We have some bilingual members (myself included) who have access to many books unavailable due to no English translation. It would be fun to share more stories with you :)."

I third this! Please let us know how we as moderators can help to facilitate this!
As mentioned before group members are free to start up their own threads here!

Asaria, best wishes for your move!

Jalilah wrote: "I third this! Please let us know how we as moderators can help to facilitate this!
As mentioned before group members are free to start up their own threads here!"

Maybe separate threads dedicated to the respective regions would be solution? This way, it's possible to keep track of both discussions and recommendations in one place and it would be easier to navigate for newer users, I guess. If something catches on, then we can always set up a buddy read later.

I can do a kind of short summarization of the tales from unavailable sources, something I sometimes did on occasion.

Jalilah wrote: "Asaria, best wishes for your move! "

Thanks, one week to the zero hour :)

Asaria wrote: "Maybe separate threads dedicated to the respective regions would be solution? This way, it's possible to keep track of both discussions and recommendations in one place and it would be easier to navigate for newer users, I guess. If something catches on, then we can always set up a buddy read later."

I was thinking about facilitating themed threads of book suggestions, and maybe regional ones would be fun. I'll need help with brainstorming regions.

Asaria wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Well, I've been much less active recently due to real life drama - job burnout , burnout by books, and at top of that I'll be moving out from my home town Częstochowa to Kraków soon."

Have a safe move!

Margaret wrote: "I was thinking about facilitating themed threads of book suggestions, and maybe regional ones would be fun. I'll need help with brainstorming region ..."

For Europe: Central and Eastern Europe (we can include also Ashkenazi and Gipsy/Roma lore and non-Slavic countries like Hungary here), Western Europe, Balkans?

MENA countries?

Native American/First People?
Latin American?

Asian (Southern, Northern, Central, and so on?)

African?

Caribbean, Polynesian, Micronesian, or something akin?

That's the first thing that comes to my mind. Yet, I think the more general categories we have the better. What do you think?

Margaret wrote: "Have a safe move!..."

Thanks!

Thank you for all the effort you put in this group :)

This year the challenge was a little difficult for me to be able to recommend a book, I felt I do not know enough about the book events or characters to decide, it is just me, I find general themes easier :).

I voted when a book appealed to me. A couple of books I started did not work for me , just personal taste. From another side, I did not read much this year.

I still read books that are related to the group, and I got great nominations from here!

Jalilah wrote: "Christine wrote: "The tales of month I just randomly chose and posted a starter post. I can start doing that again."

Christine that would be great if you could start that up again!"

Will do. Anyone want a particular tale type or topic?

Christine wrote: "Will do. Anyone want a particular tale type or topic?"

I just read a Bluebeard retelling and it had me thinking about Bluebeard again. I'm not sure if you've done that one before!

Asaria wrote: "For Europe: Central and Eastern Europe (we can include also Ashkenazi and Gipsy/Roma lore and non-Slavic countries like Hungary here), Western Europe, Balkans?"

Thank you! I'll start a discussion over the weekend for one of those groups. You're also welcome to get one started too.

It is so strange! In response to the suggestions regarding having different folders for different geographic areas, I started looking for old group reads. We have had African, Asian, South American themed group reads. I also remember there being an Irish theme. I can't find any of them now!
It looks like they've all disappeared! Could it be my iPad?

Bluebeard it is.

as I said before, in the past we did have group reads for various geographical areas. We determined the folders disappeared somehow.
For now I have created 4 new folders; Africa, Asia, Middle East and Europe. I plan to create more.
I had to go through the folder called Previous Group Reads and find the original group read discussions that went with the different areas and put them in the new folders. It was quite time consuming and I didn't put them all in the right place. I will try to do a little each day.
There were some books I wasn't sure where to put. For example Tam Lin by Pamela Dean is based on the original tale, but takes place in the US. It didn't seem right to put it into the Europe folder, so I kept it where it is, in a folder called Novels with Myths and Fairy Tales.
If anyone has any suggestions I am totally open to them!
Also if anyone here has free time feel free to go through the previous group read folder and see what else needs to go where.
Thanks!

In addition to East Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe I have also made folders for South America, African American/Caribbean, Greek Mythology. There already was a folder for Native American/First Nations, as there was a folder for Original Fairy tales, as in not retellings. There is another folder for Fairy Tale Retellings and one for Mythic Fiction. By mythic fiction I am using the term coined by Teri Wendling and Charles de Lint meaning literature that is some how influenced by or combines elements of mythology and fairy tales, rather than direct retellings.
So now if you browse it should not appear that there are group reads that can only be commented on with in an exact time frame.
I hope this makes navigating the group easier.
If anyone disagrees about where a certain book is, please let me know!

Margaret, I've added a couple more books to the Greek mythology folder. But they are now at the top of the folder. I don't know if that's ok or if you want your "Greek mythology book recommendations" to stay at the very top of the folder, and all the specific books underneath that.

If it doesn't make a difference, don't worry about it. I'm bringing it up because I didn't want to usurp your position at the top of the folder but I don't know how to rearrange the folders. Sorry.

Tamara wrote: "Margaret, I've added a couple more books to the Greek mythology folder. But they are now at the top of the folder. I don't know if that's ok or if you want your "Greek mythology book recommendation..."

You are absolutely fine! Thank you for adding books!

Hmm. Where would something about India go?

Mary wrote: "Hmm. Where would something about India go?"
I'll create a South Asia folder!
I'll do it now before I forget!

Jalilah wrote: "Mary wrote: "Hmm. Where would something about India go?"
I'll create a South Asia folder!
I'll do it now before I forget!"

Mary wrote: "Hmm. Where would something about India go?"

I tried to create a South Asian folder last night but I had used up my 2-3 allotted folder creations.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Mary wrote: "Hmm. Where would something about India go?"
I'll create a South Asia folder!
I'll do it now before I forget!"

Mary wrote: "Hmm. Where would something about India go?"..."

I created a South Asia folder already!
As I was trying to rearrange previous group reads I realised the need for more folders. We have had read so many books in Norse mythology that I thought it was appropriate to create a folder for Norse Mythology.
Also we had a number of books featuring fairies and jinn that were not retellings, but also not written by authors of the cultures/countries these magical being came from, so I also created a Magical Beings Jinn, Fae folder. If a book featuring Jinn were written by a Middle Eastern person for example I would have put the book the Middle East folder. The same if the book were an Irish author

I'm finally catching up on this thread. Thank to the mods and to the other members.

I often lurk rather than participate (especially during times when my own reading is focused on history and histfic), but I have continued to use the group to feed my TBR shelf.

I'm often reading months behind the discussion, so title or topical threads are more interesting to me than threads based on a calendar.

I read as many retellings and source versions of myth, folklore/legend (which is where I'd place Tam Lin, BTW), and fairy tale as I can.

I loathe and avoid FB and have never heard of Discord (why the off-putting name?), so I'd rather stay in Goodreads, while acknowledging its flaws.

I appreciate the voices in this group!

Hmm, I can't find the South Asia folder.

Susan wrote: "I'm often reading months behind the discussion, so title or topical threads are more interesting to me than threads based on a calendar."

And you're welcome to join any discussion no matter how much time has passed!