YA LGBT Books discussion
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SHOULD THIS GROUP CONTINUE?
I don't know if I'll ever be active but I am glad to be a part of this group.
I always like having a read through the group. I enjoy having it around for sure! ✨
I’m not active here often but I check the posts sometimes. Sorry there hasn’t been much activity lately :(
Unfortunately, I am one of the lurkers, and with the rest of my life, and—warning! excuse/rationale/dog-ate-my-homework ahead—my inability to get The Tinderbox or anything else done and up for sale, I haven't been motivated to participate. I enjoy the occasional check-in, but barring an influx of new focus and energy on finally completing the %&@!&!(! new book...sometime in 2046, probably, at the rate things are going...I'll only be lurking. While I hope the group continues, that's very selfish on my part. And Kaje, frankly, after all this time, if someone isn't willing to step up and become moderator so you can devote your energies to more productive things elsewhere, then maybe it's time for the group to disband.
Just my USD .02.
Eric
I am glad to be a part of the group and yes, I will be active when I can
Thanks everyone. <3 @Eric - good luck with the writing. I have no problem with lurkers, I just like knowing there are enough around to be worth the time :D
I enjoy the recommendations. That’s my primary form of engagement.
I unfortunately cannot provide much input as I have just joined, but I've been more of a lurker, I'm trying to be better at joining conversation, but peopling is hard. Anyways. I do enjoy some of the books that you provide for monthly reads so I would hate to see this group dissipate, but I do understand the considerations that need to be made still.
I'm more drawn to prompts and commentary which inspire, spur on creativity, and I'm interested in what other people are reading. I've learned a lot from your commentary. I should promote myself more, but I have a devil of a time setting up the links and the image so they're actually attractive.
I wish I could provide some real input. I only joined last month and I’m definitely a lurker. Which is strange because I’m active on other online communities. But I would be really sad to see this group disappear. I love the recommendations given.
I'm not active, either, but I do like browsing the shelves and have a look at the recs :)
Yes, I would like to see the group continue. The feature I most enjoy is the book-of-the-month group discussion
The group is a valuable source of information from published authors.
I lurk, but I would be more active if we had more polls... new releases, different genres, ongoing series, older books... to give more variety and choice and give me more opportunity to engage. Maybe some fun cover art challenges? Book rating dicsussions/ tier ranking? Choosing authours from different countries reading bingo card? A thread to link to participants monthly wrap-up pics on instagram or something... just a few ideas off the top of my head.
Yes, I've discovered a lot more LGBTQ+ books because of this group
I think even if the threads slow down, it would be worth it to keep the bookshelves. There's a pretty well curated collection of books and threads chock-full of pages and pages of opinions and suggestions. I think it is still a good group, although maybe not the most active.**I'll try harder to remember to vote in the polls.
((on the other hand, I also would understand if you don't want to run it anymore. Running a forum is a huge amount of work and especially by yourself.))
As a lurker myself, and someone who has a lot of plates to juggle, i understand why you wouldn't be in the position to keep up regularly. Please know that I enjoy reading through posts, and browsing the shelves. Thank you for all you have done and do for our reading pleasure.
I'm sorry I don't look at it more. I am on Goodreads less because I am writing a thesis (not the sort of thing I can share here).I'd like to argue that this group has worth and that you should keep it but if it is draining you then perhaps not. Still, I have appreciated it existing and if it keeps going am likely to look at it sometimes. Sounds like if it keeps going you should get a co-admin?
AS Stef and E.M. said -- I appreciate the group and would be sorry to see it go, but realize it's probably a lot of work and understand if you want to channel that energy elsewhere.
I second what Mere said.I also don't use this group at all anymore. I'm in a phase where I don't like Young Adult fiction very much. But there are lots of people interested in M/M fiction for whom other groups such as the M/M romance group is inappropriate because of so much NSFW. There are places where there are just not very many resources for lgbtqia+ youth.
I understand it must be exhausting for you and you have so many other projects going, I'm sure, so I understand if you want to stop. But I think finding another co-moderator would be better than stopping altogether. Is it possible for a young person to be a moderator? You could have several co-moderators, too.
i usually vote in the polls with the intention to read the BOTM picks but always end up forgetting. I haven't been using Goodreads as much as I used to. If you decide to keep the group around, I'll do my best to be more active!
I'm mostly here for recommendations, as I can only buy one audiobook per month--and then only if it's available on Audible. I wanted to participate in group reads in all the groups I'm in, but I just don't have the wakefulness capacity, unfortunately. It's even slower going with hard copy because my eyes wear out very quickly.I wish I could help mod, but I'm now not only keeping an eye on my mom's health but also am now transporting us both because she totaled her vehicle.
I hope you're somehow able to keep this group open, but I understand as a former Yahoo group and journal community mod that it's a lot of thankless work for relative strangers to balance against real life situations and loved ones. *safe hugs*
Stay wonderful,
I have no idea why the word "h u g s" was censored from my post, but that's what's supposed to be after "safe."
While my participation here is definitely not consistent, I deeply appreciate the fact that the group exists and love reading through it even when I’m not able to comment. It always inspires me when I’m not sure what to read and I love knowing that there are like-minded folks with similar interests, even when our interactions might not be plenty. I understand that maintaining the group with little to no feedback/participation from members might be tiring and even annoying and feel worthless but for what it’s worth, even though I’d totally understand if it came to be too much and the decision was made to not continuing the group, I am deeply thankful for the work of moderation and the existence of the space, regardless of how long it may continue in the future (though I am honestly hoping it is long still 💖)
Even though I'm not very active (I can't remember the last time I posted here, but I do enjoy reading other people's posts for sure), I really like this group. It gives me motivation to read and new LGBTQ+ recommendations.But I also understand if you don't want to keep moderating a group with such little interaction, so if you decide to not keep the group active I completely understand! <3
Kaje wrote: "Hey folks, I need your input on whether this group is still useful to you.Is this group worth maintaining?
What if any features (bookshelf? Sales? Recommendations? Stories?) do you look at?
Is ..."
I like book recommendations
Book recommendations are super helpful!
Hi Kaje!My mods and I are having similar issues maintaining the LGBTQ/GSM Fantasy and Sci Fi group (for 18+). RL is just kicking our butts right now. I'm very sad about it, but also don't have the bandwidth to really keep up.
On the other hand, my devotion to and love of YA LGBT (still my favorite) and reading in general is as high as ever. With all the Library attacks happening in America, these kinds of groups are really important to have going. I mean, can I join the library board for a state I don't live in? I doubt it. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/chaya-raic...)
So for anyone reading, PLEASE think about helping! Kaje has been a titan in maintaining this group and helping with others and writing her books and more I'm sure. But one person shouldn't be doing all of it.
Love and hugs to everyone!
❤️
PS- I look for recs, book discussions, and off-topic discussions
Hi, First of all, thank you very much for your work and your commitment! I really appreciate it. I'm actually only here for book recommendations for exciting lesbian literature. As a non-native English speaker, I honestly didn't realize that this group could theoretically include more than the very helpful newsletter for LGBTQ literature. I would of course be very happy if at least the newsletter is kept up. In any case, a sincere thank you again for your work so far ❤️
Hi! I'm kinda active on this group, I sometimes participate in the discussions and I'm kinda new so I haven't done any of the monthly book reads but I want to participate. The book recs are rlly helpful and the bookshelf helped me find more books. pls don't discontinue this and thank u for maintaining the group.💗
Yes, I think the group should stay active! I don’t have anything like this in real life and really appreciate it. ❤️
I’ve been in this group as a lurker for a while now. I don’t use GR in the same way as other socials so I think that’s why. I’d love to see this group thrive. Always enjoy the recommendations!
<3 Thanks everyone for stopping by - I appreciate seeing that there are people who are getting value from the group. I have a deadline kicking my butt this month (as in, I'm proofreading for a release in less than 2 weeks.) Plus I have extra shifts on my day job. After that, I plan to put a bit more time into seeing what can be done to keep this group more active. <3
I lurk but mostly just watch what's going on. Thanks for all the hard work, Kaje!
I am also a lurker! I'd love to be more active on here if I can ever free some time up in my random life. Thank you so much for keeping it going.
Kaje, thank you for maintaining the bookshelf with tags; that, I frequent often to find my niche kind of books. After I read the books, I post a comment/review.
I'm not active much on goof reads in general, I think that you should do whatever is on your heart. If you can and want to keep updating the group than go on, nothing stopping you, but if that's not the case and you feel like it's not worth it then it just isn't. You know best.
I know one thing, and it's that I like being part of the group and the ongoing updates are nice.
But at the end of the day everything is not about me or the other 15 people who keep track of your work, you choose what's best for you and we'll accept it either way.
Yes I love this group and often lurk for recs. I will try and post more. Heres my newest rec its Sam Kerr latest, she is a true LGBTQIA+ icon and YA author. She has published this exceptional book for teens with heaps of advice, inspiration and mindset techniques My Football Journal
Mary wrote: "Yes I love this group and often lurk for recs. I will try and post more. Heres my newest rec its Sam Kerr latest, she is a true LGBTQIA+ icon and YA author. She has published this exceptional book ..."Thanks for the recommendation.
hi, yes, I hope this thread continues (I'm new to it) and I wish there were one for middle grade LBGTQIA+ as well!
Julie wrote: "hi, yes, I hope this thread continues (I'm new to it) and I wish there were one for middle grade LBGTQIA+ as well!"We have some lists on Goodreads for middle grade LGBT books (although not a group)
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
We have one group thread with recommendations for an 11 year old, although it was posted 2013 so not all of these books are necessarily in print now (or current after 11 years)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I'm new to the group but I will definitely share recommendations when I think of them! Most recently I read a YA Queer Survival Horror called "What the Woods Took" by Courtney Gould. Soft TW for themes of mental health issues, and stuff like addiction, loss, trauma, etc. That said, I think it was a really wonderful new book to read! It features dual protagonists, LGBTQ+ characters, and big spooky folklore/cryptid vibes. Basically the kids get taken to "wilderness therapy" against their will, and stuff gets wild when their guides through the woods disappear one day, and then they realize they aren't alone in the woods. Things are not as they seem, and all of the characters have to figure out who to trust & how to survive and get out of the woods. The characters are well-developed, relatable, and all the relationships and friendships are very well earned. I ended up really rooting for all of them!
Morgan wrote: "I'm new to the group but I will definitely share recommendations when I think of them! Most recently I read a YA Queer Survival Horror called "What the Woods Took" by Courtney Gould. Soft TW for th..."Thanks for the rec. I can add it to next month's Book of the month vote.
Hi, I just joined this group. I am the director of libraries for a large city school district in a midwestern state. In my opinion, we need groups like this and will need them even more in the months and years to come. LGBTQIA+ lit and children are under attack.
The more adults and kids alike are reading LGBTQIA+ lit...the more kids will be able to connect with the books they want and need--books that validate and celebrate their lives and experiences.
Joe wrote: "Hi, I just joined this group. I am the director of libraries for a large city school district in a midwestern state. In my opinion, we need groups like this and will need them even more in the mo..."
Yay! for a library director with a commitment to providing LGBTQ books to the folks who want them. Welcome.
Is this group worth maintaining?
What if any features (bookshelf? Sales? Recommendations? Stories?) do you look at?
Is anyone inspired to take the group in new directions or breathe life into any of the languishing features?
Comment below, and thanks to everyone who takes the time. <3