Play Book Tag discussion

Is it just me, or is the summer going SO fast??? At any rate, it's time to vote for next month's tag.

Please vote for the tag you would most like to read for August at the following link:

https://forms.gle/XdkvUAATG34GxixD8

Here are the lists of books for each tag:

5-Stars: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
faith: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
feminism: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

Remember, you may cast up to a total of 10 participation points for your choice. Every PBT member gets one vote for free so please vote even if you don't have any participation points!

You can see how many participation points you currently have in the spreadsheet below.

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

Happy voting! Please cast your votes by noon EST on 7/22.

How alliterative!

What BnB said!

I see one that really will provide a wide variety of genres to read and has books that suit many moods.

FYI - for those playing - you'll see in the BWF thread that for the first one STARS is the word that would be used, not FIVE.

I voted but didn't really favor one over the other since I can work with any of the three. The 5-stars rating tag received my top vote. However, this is a subjective tag since one person's five-star rating is another's 1-star rating. If this one is selected, I will either stick to the Listopia link or only read books that have a preponderance of five-star ratings.

You’re so right, John - 5 stars is hugely subjective. If the tag wins, that could actually create some great discussions!

The other two are interesting tags as well.

5-star is way too broad for me, so I voted for feminism.

If 5-star wins, I will ask for some 5 star recommendations from group members.

I voted.

Interesting. I can’t wait to do research.

All - just remember it is 5 -starS -- plural -- as the proposed tag. It's a bigger list.

And also be careful researching feminisM -- NOT feminisT which we had as a tag in 2022 I think. Very different lists.

Both the 5 stars and feminism tags are likely to have plenty of book I could read, so it will likely come down to the letters. Even though the tags are broad, the bwf options are narrow. This month I seem to be more attracted to debut books that don’t fit the letters.

I have a lot of books on my tbr that have religious topics or characters, but they aren’t really *about* religion or faith. I might be pleasantly surprised when I look at the list.

5 Stars is similar to when we had a monthly tag of Favorite (or Favorites, I don't remember which). If the book is at all well known, there are probably at least 5 people who loved it and gave that tag, even if many others didn't.

Theresa wrote: "All - just remember it is 5 -starS -- plural -- as the proposed tag. It's a bigger list.

And also be careful researching feminisM -- NOT feminisT which we had as a tag in 2022 I think. Very diffe..."

Had to check and confirm that this spelling matches the one on Steeplechase. It was my favorite of the tags on the track so far. I remember that it was a great and varied list. Tons that I read or wanted to read were on the list.

I definitely have less for Faith but I could make any work.

Booknblues wrote: "How alliterative!"

Yes, and I am fond of alliteration.

All three are easy-peasy for me, so what do I most feel like reading in the summer?

I am usually the voice of positivity, and of course I will find something to read. But I am currently, an unusual voice of dissent. Although the lists end at 25 pages, undoubtedly I will find something in there that was unexpected.

I have plenty of "read" for each but barely any "want to reads" and those very few don't match the challenge.

Faith will be hard for me because 95% of the books are going to be Christian Based, and that's kind of not my thing. But I do have a few that just might fit after all. There is always the occasional novel with the theme and lord knows I am drawn to that.

Feminism is the tag I like the least in terms of topic, but looks like I found a challenge match or two amongst the only three. But... the pages end at 77 tags, 19 tags, and 57 tags. There may be plenty more.... How should I vote? I am going to close my eyes and just make a snap decision. Consider me as having voted.

It's interesting to me that when I first joined PBT, the prevailing group favored narrow tags. Our membership has shifted a bit since then and now, we seem to like broader tags, myself included.

While I like faith as a theme, it seems to be the more narrow of the tags. I'm inclined to vote for the 5 star choice.

Wow! Already! This month is flying by.

Thanks so much, Lisa, for the heads up! I really appreciate it!!! I will touch base if I have any confusion or concerns.

Lisa☀️ wrote: "@Anita, I voted using 1 participation point. My profile isn't listed on the Google spreadsheet yet though. When I voted I entered my profile name as Lisa. If you need to use another name on the spr..."

Welcome to the group Lisa,!

Holly R W wrote: "It's interesting to me that when I first joined PBT, the prevailing group favored narrow tags. Our membership has shifted a bit since then and now, we seem to like broader tags, myself included...."

I think part of this is so people can fit them into the annual challenges, as well.

I've almost always preferred the narrower tags (and that remains the case), but then as an admin I can't actually win anything. When I do the challenges, it's only for fun (or to help a team).

ETA: I will add that there are a few narrow tags that I might have some trouble with!

Interesting choices ...

One I'd rather not have to read for.

One I'll happily read for, but not exactly excited about.

One "speaks" to me immediately.


None are tags that I frequently use myself, though I certain read books that would fit all of these tags.

working on voting as well. I'm definitely torn. And I've noted that I thought I'd read a lot more for each tag and to fit BWF but I feel like I'm doing well just to read 1 or 2 each month for the letter and tag. Such is life right now I guess, as I'm such a moody reader. I'm loving the debut tag though.

Anita wrote: "Is it just me, or is the summer going SO fast??? At any rate, it's time to vote for next month's tag.

Please vote for the tag you would most like to read for August at the following link:

https:/..."

The 5* list is very mixed.....of the ones I have read I've rated them everything from 1* (couldn't find much to like) to 5* (wouldn't change a thing).

LibraryCin wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "It's interesting to me that when I first joined PBT, the prevailing group favored narrow tags. Our membership has shifted a bit since then and now, we seem to like broader tags, m..."

I agree that the game combination this year is driving the push for broader tags. Steeplechase has more than 100 different tags, some of which are very narrow. Plus the bwf letters narrow down our choices considerably. So the broader tags give us more room to juggle multiple goals. For me, the best balance of depth and breadth was reached with the authors of color tag. I was able to read books from all around the world, but everything felt tied together in some way. It was very satisfying.

For all of the new people who have recently joined PBT, I'd like to point out that for the monthly tag, you don't have to read a book with at least 5 matching tags (as found on the book's page). If you feel that the book you choose fits the tag and is in the spirit of it, then that's all that matters.

In the formal yearly challenges, then the book must have 5 matching tags to count.

Holly R W wrote: "For all of the new people who have recently joined PBT, I'd like to point out that for the monthly tag, you don't have to read a book with at least 5 matching tags (as found on the book's page). If..."

Very good point, Holly, I was confused about that when I joined. Of course, nobody HAS to read anything for the tags, but it can be fun to find something you might not have otherwise read (or something in your immense TBR that fits.) Almost every month I am surprised to find that something I was reading for a very different purpose happens to fit the tag.

Robin, I have the same experience - it's almost like serendipity. I bump into a book that has the monthly tag. ;0)

I'm a proponent of making your own judgment if it fits the monthly theme, outside annual challenges, of course. I find so many books I just happen to be reading actually fit the theme in my opinion, it's usually pretty easy to read more than one each month. This month, I have a couple of books that are debuts but for whatever reasons, no one has tagged them. Tagging is a personal and very eccentric individual choice so why be bound by that?

I have a clear favourite this month, and I think it might be the first time I’ve voted without even looking at the lists for two of the three tags.

NancyJ wrote: "LibraryCin wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "It's interesting to me that when I first joined PBT, the prevailing group favored narrow tags. Our membership has shifted a bit since then and now, we seem to l..."

Authors of color has been my favourite tag so far this year too,, though closely followed by historical mystery.

It's been a while since I've done this, but once in a while I indulge my love of lists to see if I can find titles that are tagged with all three of our options for the month. This time I've found 2 titles without looking too hard :

The Red Tent
The Poisonwood Bible

There are bound to be others.

Gwen wrote: "My first vote and I found several books I am interested in all three choices.

Great to know about the monthly tag. Especially if we think it fits.

I may in the future vote for a tag that is outs..."

Welcome Gwen. If you’re like most of us here, your comfort zone will get bigger and bigger every month. It’s a wonderful group. I hope you love it here.

Jgrace wrote: "It's been a while since I've done this, but once in a while I indulge my love of lists to see if I can find titles that are tagged with all three of our options for the month. This time I've found ..."

I love doing that too. I’ve been meaning to read The Red Tent for a long time. Thanks for the reminder.

Jgrace wrote: "It's been a while since I've done this, but once in a while I indulge my love of lists to see if I can find titles that are tagged with all three of our options for the month. This time I've found ..."

I read Red Tent last month and loved it. I also really liked Poisonwood Bible and it's still my favorite Kingsolver book.

Amy wrote: "I am usually the voice of positivity, and of course I will find something to read. But I am currently, an unusual voice of dissent. Although the lists end at 25 pages, undoubtedly I will find somet..."

Actually, there are a surprising number of other books tagged faith, but sometimes it takes longer to get there (as in beyond the 25 pages.) However, Christians are more likely to tag things faith and less likely to use many different tags.

I don't expect faith to win and haven't even been checking that tag. I'm a Christian and find many of the books with that tag annoying--I've only read 4 of the ones on the first page and liked only one of them, The Hiding Place. I'm not a CS Lewis fan, but many like his Narnia series (anymore for Narnia--loved them as a child.)

Karin wrote: "Amy wrote: "I am usually the voice of positivity, and of course I will find something to read. But I am currently, an unusual voice of dissent. Although the lists end at 25 pages, undoubtedly I wil..."

I am almost finished with A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. The titular character is always telling his best friend, the narrator, to have faith. In fact the book opens with a statement, "I am a Christian because of Owen Meaney."

NancyJ wrote: "Jgrace wrote: "It's been a while since I've done this, but once in a while I indulge my love of lists to see if I can find titles that are tagged with all three of our options for the month. This t..."

The Red Tent is one my all time favoites

Possible Buddy read for The Red Tent?

I must have read that a thousand years ago. Its the book that made (my/our) Anita Diamant famous. She loves that people are still reading and talking about it now. She was the first of the authors who took midrash (Jewish stories) and made them into historical fiction. Now that is a hugely popular thing to do. She opened the door for that.

John wrote: "Karin wrote: "Amy wrote: "I am usually the voice of positivity, and of course I will find something to read. But I am currently, an unusual voice of dissent. Although the lists end at 25 pages, und..."

It's on the list for faith :)

I voted.

I think I voted ... but real life is in a tailspin right now, so I'm not sure. Anita, please tell me if I haven't voted yet.

Lisa wrote: "@Anita, I voted using 1 participation point. My profile isn't listed on the Google spreadsheet yet though. When I voted I entered my profile name as Lisa. If you need to use another name on the spr..."

Welcome to the group Lisa. It is a fun group.

Book Concierge wrote: "I think I voted ... but real life is in a tailspin right now, so I'm not sure. Anita, please tell me if I haven't voted yet."

Yes, you did! Sorry for my slow response. I was out of town this weekend.

No worries, Anita. Hope you enjoyed your weekend getaway!