|
Thinking about revamping the BOTM since we seem to be having flagging participation, and I suspect having alternating threads instead of one running megathread is losing people's bookmarks. I want to get feedback from people though before I make any major changes. Are people generally happy with how the BOTM has been going? What thoughts do people have? What would people like to see? More accessible works? More challenging stuff? Easier to find things, or less well known stuff? Throwing the floor open here, any suggestions appreciated. I want to be reading books with people but that means we need to be reading things people want to read, together!
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 01:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 04:31 |
|
|
I'd like more accessible works that have a "hook" or element that invites further discussion, and which ideally can be advertised to draw in new participants.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 01:55
|
|
|
I'm pretty new to participating in this forum but it was frustrating how many people voted for The Satanic Verses and then just apparently didn't read it or at least didn't post about reading it. I didn't even vote for it but at least got in the reservation queue at the library (34th in line  ). Maybe the problem is that people are voting for "That's a cool book" instead of "That's a book I will actually read this month." For example Convenience Store Woman (which I did vote for) is 160 pages and tiny.So maybe a check on page count (or at least include page count in the poll), maybe an availability check (was the author just in the news? probably all their books will be checked out of the library), and let's not let "middlebrow" be a pejorative. Still, I respect the work you're doing, you really can't please everyone, and I'm gonna keep on trying.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 02:17
|
|
|
Vienna Circlejerk posted:I'm pretty new to participating in this forum but it was frustrating how many people voted for The Satanic Verses and then just apparently didn't read it or at least didn't post about reading it. I didn't even vote for it but at least got in the reservation queue at the library (34th in line That was partly my fault; I never got a thread up for it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 02:30
|
|
|
I actually got out Convenience Store Woman which I will read after I finish Zuboks Collapse in a couple of days.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 03:24
|
|
|
I did make the mistake of reading Moby Dick as part of the reading challenge and things like that uhhh so like give you bonus points or whatever lmao.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 03:26
|
|
|
I've said so elsewhere, but I think that runners-up in the polls should be considered for the next month too. We've had a lot of very close results and seeing your choice lose by just a vote or two might be disheartening to potential BOTM participants. In terms of book choices and timing, a month of turnaround can be a little tight. Organising a month or two in advance - staggering it so that say, March's book is voted for in January, April's book in February, May's in March, would give folks time to acquire copies. There's also the potential for getting new eyeballs on the thread through forum ads, but obviously that means using actual human money.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 07:33
|
|
|
I think having the Botm for the next month come out 2-3 or even 4 weeks early would be a good thing. Maybe also allow people to lead the discussion. People can promote a book for BotM and then have some discussion questions planned. A single megathread would get a lot more traffic imo, though then there will also be some off-topic chatter.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 09:13
|
|
|
Gertrude Perkins posted:
This is something I'd like to do but it runs into my own time / organizational limits. Setting things up as a single megathread might help. Another option might be something more akin to a "monthly book club." I don't have to be the dude picking the book every month. In theory with a megathread people could suggest "Hey, want to read X next month?" and then if enough people agree whee Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 12:45 on Sep 29, 2022 |
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 12:31
|
|
|
Maybe you could get like a book club IK to help out with setting up the whole thing and just supervise it?
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 13:49
|
|
|
with the caveat that I haven't participated properly in these things for a good while, I also second having runner-ups becoming a next botm thing. maybe every three turns or so, let the poll just be some of the most voted-for second places? there's been some interesting or neat books just barely didn't make it in the past
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 15:23
|
|
|
My thoughts as a casual participant in BOTM: I don’t really have a preference for challenging vs. accessible in terms of what I want to read, like I think I’ve read both Moby Dick and the Diablo novelization for BOTM. But, the more accessible books seem both easier to read quickly enough to participate in discussion, and easier to discuss. I personally prefer less-well-known things, or at least less-often-read things (like Peter Pan is pretty univerally known, but I’m not sure how many people actually read the book nowadays). I read a wide variety of genres, so I'm usually in the middle of three or four books that I rotate between depending on my mood. Which impacts BOTM in that I finish any individual book slower, so it’d be nice having more advance notice so I could slot the book in where it belongs. I would prefer a megathread to individual threads, although not because of bookmarks because I don’t even know how they work. Rather, because it seems more likely that discussion would continue from the previous month’s book while I’m reading the current month’s book. Especially since the first week of a month I might be finishing the previous book and not having even started the current book. Which isn't impossible with separate threads, but it's keeping an obsolete thread alive.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 17:20
|
|
|
pseudanonymous posted:I think having the Botm for the next month come out 2-3 or even 4 weeks early would be a good thing. I think these are both good ideas. Having someone put some effort into encouraging/promoting discussion of the book could give some people a place to put rubber to the road. A lot of BotM posts are like: “I read it, it was good.” Which doesn’t promote discussion, but if you have someone spurring it along, I could see that having some merit.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2022 18:11
|
|
|
pseudanonymous posted:I think having the Botm for the next month come out 2-3 or even 4 weeks early would be a good thing. Doing the bolded stuff got mentioned back around february or march of this year but never actually happened. Stick everything on discord and manage it all there. Discord is where 99% of the botm recommendations come from, plus it gives the people banned from posting on somethingawful a chance to participate and be heard in the book of the month discussions.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2022 18:16
|
|
|
quantumfoam posted:Stick everything on discord and manage it all there. I ain't using discord so I can read a forum
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2022 18:20
|
|
|
Vienna Circlejerk posted:I ain't using discord so I can read a forum Yeah. Sadly that's where 99% of the BotM nominations and talk seems to happen. Definitely not here. If there is a BotM megathread, dedicate the 2nd post in it to listing all the current/previous BotM selections, and wipe the OP every month.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2022 00:41
|
|
|
Any specific suggestions for this month's book?
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2022 02:17
|
|
|
megathread sounds good so that there can be discussion of other books that arent the main "book of the month". usually there is something on the list that id like to read but not always the main one. also, im a pretty slow reader so I might not be as caught up as some of the other posters so having a fairly loose discussion of the book(s) would be really great! Thanks for the hard work HA I've read a ton of very good books that are usually outside of my wheelhouse. Please dont stop doing this regardless of how much engagement youre getting
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2022 03:05
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Any specific suggestions for this month's book?
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2022 05:13
|
|
|
AngusPodgorny posted:My thoughts as a casual participant in BOTM: I agree with most of this, especially the bolded. When you have commitments to return books fitting something in with a few days to spare isn't going to happen with me. Also like the idea of having book hosts, maybe IKs, lead the discussion. As I was just posting on the discord discussion on this, having someone with the  spirit gets the discussions going more freely I think.I disagree on the megathread though. Having the books in different threads make them easier to go back to later. Megathreads tend to verge into discord channels (although with better search lol) where once you pass the scrollback points made tend to not be looked back on again.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2022 01:35
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Any specific suggestions for this month's book? The just out We Spread by Iain Reid sounds great but I know you prefer things easier to get for cheap so new releases aren't likely to make the cut. Still.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2022 01:37
|
|
|
Do something spooky for October, that’s all I got
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2022 01:53
|
|
|
Sandwolf posted:Do something spooky for October, that’s all I got I forgot it was October. We will inaugurate the new thread with an absolute banger: The BotM for October will be Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu. free online here: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10007 I'll get the new revised thread up in the next day or so. I do bring back books that didn't win the poll sometimes, but i'll go through methodically and make a list of all the prior nominees we've had that didn't make the cut, for reference for future months. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Oct 3, 2022 |
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2022 03:20
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/alloy_dr/status/1577126864631783424?s=20&t=FojNdxuOSM-JLm7ChjLAbw
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2022 03:46
|
|
|
To encourage participation, would it be possible to try some sort of lottery? Like one random person who posted in the thread gets an av cert, or gets to be IK next month etc
|
|
#
?
Oct 8, 2022 12:02
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Any specific suggestions for this month's book? I went ahead on The Orphan Master’s Son a while back but I think it would be well received here and I’d be down for a re-read. Also, I’m lousy about posting here but I super appreciate the BotM threads - I use the archive to find stuff that was posted months, sometimes years ago. Thanks HA!
|
|
#
?
Oct 9, 2022 23:20
|
|
|
Oh I get it reVAMP
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 09:25
|
|
|
I haven't participated much either, but SA seems like the most accessible book club for me, so I would like to contribute: 1) I agree a megathread would probably be more effective than rotating threads every month, even though I can see how it could get cluttered quickly. Maybe have an auxiliary "Past BotM Discussion" megathread where people can continue discussing if they want? That way people don't feel rushed if they're a week or two late finishing the book and still want to talk about it. (maybe only make that thread if it starts to seem relevant though) 2) Maybe, depending on the length or other attributes of the book selected, occasionally extend the time period? Having 2 months instead of 1 to go through denser books could help. That or give further notice so people can adjust their reading schedule accordingly. On the flipside I can see where this could lead to the thread stagnating, so possibly only for exceptional cases or make it 6 weeks instead of 8, but something to consider. 3) I agree a slightly more guided discussion could be helpful as well. A rotating IK (maybe whoever proposed the book that won that month, if willing?) that could effort post once about why they chose the book and a few points to talk about? A similar mechanism seems to work in the Thunderdome thread. That thread works very different obviously, but it's a precedent. Guido Merkens posted:Also, I’m lousy about posting here but I super appreciate the BotM threads - I use the archive to find stuff that was posted months, sometimes years ago. Thanks HA! Agreed! Thanks for taking the time to curate these threads HA, they're great for extending my already infinitely long backlog.
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2022 11:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 5, 2024 04:31 |
|
|
Idaholy Roller posted:Oh I get it reVAMP ziiiiing We have officially re-launched the BotM with a new rolling megathread. That will be the BOTM thread going forward and the thread will no longer change month to month. Please bookmark it! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4013975
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2022 05:49
|
|