Chicks On Lit discussion

Hi Ladies, I hope all of our U.S. members had a pleasant Thanksgiving. This past year has been a difficult one for so many. I hope that, as we enter this final month of 2020, no one is suffering from a COVID loss or illness, from one of the many natural disasters of the year, from job or business loss, from any of the many hardships that life often brings. Despite all that has been difficult this year, we have managed to revive the book discussion thread in this group. For those who shared any of these books with me, I am so grateful. You brought a bright spot to this generally dark year.

I have two questions for everyone in this group.

1. Do we want to continue to share small group reads (which are always welcome to become large group reads)? Are people too busy, already over committed in other GR groups, ready to let this group die quietly? Or do people want to continue to nominate and share books here?

2. Depending on how you answered the first question....
If you do want to continue to have group reads here, what would you like to read in January. Our discussion of The Hummingbird's Daughter should be concluded by the end of this month. So, for those who want to continue the group reads in 2021, what should be our first book of that year?

If people want to keep reading, we can nominate and pick a book in the next 10 days. That would give everyone the second half of the month to get a copy of the book.

I am happy to continue with this group as I’ve been enjoying it.
I’ll wait to see what others say before nominating anything in case others don’t want to continue.

I am also enjoying our smaller, more intimate discussions in this group and am willing to continue. So, we can at least do buddy reads if no one else wants to join us. But, of course, I would love to have a larger group as well.

I only apologize that I can't edit the book shelf so that the top of the page reflects our current read. I wonder if people saw the new title right away if they would join the conversation.

I do enjoy the small read. This year has been a tough one. I would like to particpate more,

This happened in another of my groups. The moderator left We contacted good reads and they let on one of us assume the moderator post, Maybe we should try this

Renee, Tera did contact me months ago about making me a mod. I gave her an ambiguous answer. I said that I was willing to be make a mod in order to edit the book shelf so that the current group read would show at the top of the page, but I did not want to become the mod because I am oderating another group and I don't have the time for two groups. I am sure she did not know what to do with that answer because she did not make me a mod. And, I understand that her life is crazy like so many of our lives. If you want to bcontact GR and ask them to make you the mod of this group, I suspect that Tera would not be upset, but I don't want to speak for her. Maybe try to contact her first and ask her if she would make you a mod.

I do not really have the time. Life in this pandemic is crazy. I have kids coming to use my comp for school. They come from a large family. This means that many want the comp during school time.

I also am doing grocery curbside pickup for my aunt and mother. It keeps them out of the stores.

I am also preparing meals for them a couple times a week They used to eat out because cooking was becoming to hard for them. I just dont have time

Your family is lucky to have you. You do so much more than many people. I think that is the problem with moderating a GR group. It can demand so much time that most members are reluctant to offer to take on the role. I want editing priveledges without moderator responsibilities. LOL.

Well, we have three of us that want to keep the group reads going in 2021. So, does anyone want to nominate a title for January? If we can decide on a title by mid December, there would be two weeks to get the book, maybe even time to convince someone to give it to us as a Christmas gift (too late for Channukkah if that is your holiday).

I will continue also. I jump in and out of a bunch of group reads and am in a live bookclub too so not 100% reliable. You guys are fun to read and discuss with so count me in to randomly participate. Thanks.

I am still reading The Hummingbirds daughter. It is a long book. Iam enjoying it. The story is fascinating, But I am getting bogged down in the descriptions.

I would like something lighter for out next read. I will throw out two titles for consideration.The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop.

ThThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

I am looking forward to seeing other sugestions

I just read Fried Green Tomatoes so The Wonder Boy would be a great follow up for me.

I will nominate a title that has been on my tbr list for more than 2 years Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence.
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks

Both Dear Fahrenheit and Wonder Boy sound good to me. I will definitely participate!

Does anyone else want to nominate a title before we put it up for a vote?

No I won’t nominate, I’m good with those choices.

Here are our nominations:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks

Which book gets your vote? Let's see if we can get a decision by noon on Friday.

I will vote for my nomination
Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks

I will vote for either of my two books. I have no desire to read Dear Fahrenheit for several reasons:

I find books laced with profanity to be tacky. Yes I am a prude, profanity is something I do not tolerate,

The second is I do no like books written in letter form.

The third is my librarian felt that no incite was given on any of the books mentioned.

I did not realize that Dear Fahrenheit was laced with profanity. None of the reviews that I have read, either professional or personal, mentioned that. I am with you. Gratuitous profanity is irritating at best and offensive at worse.

OK, we need to hear from those of you who want to continue the group reads. Which title would you like to read. The two people who made the nominations are not going to be able to decide since we will obviously vote for our own nominations. LOL.

I will vote for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

I don't read a lot of fantasy so I will cast my vote for The Wonder Boy of Whistlestop.

I'm not sure if we are supposed to "cast our vote" formally on another polling page. Can somebody let me know?
Thanks!!

We are naming our vote in this thread. I don't know if I can set up a pole if I am not a mod. Actually, I have never tried to set up a poll. And, since our group is so small, it is easy enough to tabulate right here.

So, we have
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - Vivienne and Renee
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop - Robin and Renee
Dear Fahrenheit - Irene
We need a tie breaker.

Well, December is slipping away and no tie breaker is surfacing. So, I will switch my vote to The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop. I also am not a fan of fantasy, so that is making my decision. I just hope this will work as a stand alone if someone has not read Fried Green Tomatoes. The book blurb references the earlier novel. So is everyone OK with Wonder Boy? Does Jan. 1 work as a start date?

Perfect. I will join you all.

sounds good to me I will put it on hold

Ok, great. I will get the book in time.

Sounds good! I'll order the book now.

My copy came in. I got the email. I will pick it up once my library opens after their holiday break

I will download a copy this week and be ready to start reading on Jan. 1.

My copy came in and I started reading it last night.

Any initial thoughts? Is familiarity with Fried Green Tomatoes necessary to enjoy this one or does it work as a stand alone novel?

I set up a thread for this book in the book discussion folder. Feel free to post there as you start to read this. Be careful of spoilers.