The Book Lantern: Blog Discussion discussion

Alright everyone. Here we can post some basic rules for the blog. I say we try to keep cussing to a minimum and that we designate days for each person to post.

More suggestions can go below.

Is it just going to be five of us? Because I'm terribly inconsistent and not that responsible. Sorry, just trying to be honest about that up front. I dont do well with ummm, deadlines. Unfortunately. I really try but it's a character flaw.

*nods* Maybe we can go over upcoming YA releases and discuss who plans on reading them so that if we decide to do a blog we have some of the newest releases slated for review. Multiple people reviewing are great, of course.

Like for example, I'm definitely reading Red Glove by Holly Black. I've got that pre-ordered. I don't know if I'm going to risk the brain trauma on Mortal Instruments number four though!

Hmm, just my humble suggestions so feel free to shoot me down:

* Designated days and guest posts, maybe from other GoodReads reviewers who aren't full on members.
* Reviews - maybe once a month or something we can all review the same book and have one big post discussion on it, possibly put together via this group then posts to the blog. Otherwise, we all reviews seperate things and/or stick to a certain theme each week.
* Discussion posts - certain topics, e.g. clique behaviour, author/reviewer interaction, sexism, relationships, etc.
* Recommendations - We talk about things we like (because that's fun too) and highlight books which may have slipped under the radar or discuss less talked about things, e.g.g LGBT issues, race, class, etc.

Yeah, attacking authors is a big no-no. All reviews must be concise, detailed and explain just why it didn't work for you/is problematic. Snark and detailed reviews aren't mutually exclusive.

Since we're all from different parts of the world, how about posts highlighting little known books and authors from our respective places on the planet? Or old classics we grew up reading, maybe we could look back on them and see if they stand the test of time?

I'm all for the once-a-month-everyone-read the same book idea. Sounds great!

And love the idea for "Don't let the covers fool you"

I already have Clockwork Angel, so I can take that one. Though it seems like a bugger of a book to read.

Lyndsey: It is. It really is. *shudder*

I've already tackeld Crescendo so surely it can't get any worse than that. Right? RIGHT?

Oh man, I don't know. I haven't read either of those books. Eeep! Don't make me read them, guys!! Please....

I love the once a month everyone read the same book idea! I think there are other people we can expand it to.

Once a month posts is pretty good. We can vote on the book to read.

A combination of Jillian and Ceilidh's ideas would be perfect.

Lyndsey, there will be more than five of us. I invited 11 people so at least 8 will join. You guys can add anyone you want.

And anyone who wants to be a mod, just ask.

8-10 writers with a strong interest in YA will be a great foundation for it. It's not too big to be impossible to get to know one another and it's not too small where we'd be overwhelmed with deadlines we might give ourselves.

God, I don't even like to think of all the shady dystopian novels The Hunger Games gave birth to. Matched, Delirium, and my least favorite Girl in the Arena.

I'll try to cuss less. Promise! But can I make the occasional inappropriate joke? Pretty please?

I'll also try my hardest not to shoot the author down, but what if we discover a blog that really cheeses us off, for example Adornetto's 'men are suckier than vampires', or Fitzpatrick's 'be nice, or my flying monkeys will eat you'?

We should also have shelves like 'real vampires' and 'real werewolves' and perhaps even 'real fallen angels' and 'real dystopia'. We can also include manga, because let's face it, sometimes the Japanese just do it better.

Ceilidh wrote: "Hmm, just my humble suggestions so feel free to shoot me down:

* Designated days and guest posts, maybe from other GoodReads reviewers who aren't full on members.
* Reviews - maybe once a month or..."

Love idea of discussing less talked about or ignored subjects.

Once a month sounds good to me too.

We could also discuss non YA stuff that we really love, especially if it's little known and we want to get it to a wider audience. There's a lot of adult lit out there that's perfectly suitable for a younger audience. Just went to see True Grit tonight and was reminded of how much I freaking love that book. It has the strongest 14 year old female protagonist I've ever seen.

Ceilidh wrote: "We could also discuss non YA stuff that we really love, especially if it's little known and we want to get it to a wider audience. There's a lot of adult lit out there that's perfectly suitable for..."

That's a good idea. But no Anita Blake, or the like. I think really good Manga could do as well. I saw the original True Grit with John Wayne. It was funny, and not in a good way.

For blogger, to invite people to post, you'd need a Gmail account.

Everyone can list there email address like this

soandso at blank dot com

if they want an invite to the blog. I've created the domain, but I haven't done much else. You can also list what topic you want to be in charge of, and the day you'd want to post.

Yayyy! So glad you're doing this Cory!

My email id is vinaya18@gmail.com. I'll take Mondays, unless someone else wants them?

And speaking of dystopian novels, I just got an ARC of Bumped! *happy dance* And Jillian, I also got an ARC of A Tale of Two Castles! (please be at least a little jealous!) :D

Oooh and I love the idea of talking about little known books that are our favorites!

I CALL DIBS ON SATURDAY.

True grit was no good?

Also, I wanted to ask, are we sticking to reviews only? Or can we do other book-related posts, like trends in YA fiction, or favourite heroines of all time or whatever?

I'm allydodds@hotmail.co.uk I already have a blogger account so I don't know if that'll make things easier or what.

@Vinaya: I don't think we'll specifically stick to reviews, there's just way too much fun to be had with other discussions. Jillian made a few suggestions near the top of the posts.

Oh, apparently I can't invite people if I'm not a moderator! Can I be a moderator, please? And when are we starting on the blog? What are we starting with?

Anything book related. Not just YA. And trends are a must. Basically, the coolest most awesome book/writing/literary related things you can think of.

I'll give you guys admin power, then you can edit away.

I see that Jillian called Wednesday, Mel called Saturday, Vinaya called Monday, so I call Friday.

What day do you want Ceilidh?

And we can have double post days too, but fill up the other days first.

Okay, didn't read that properly so I'll redo this post. I'll take Thursday.

Sunday? I'll take sunday. I'm setting up a gmail for this so I'll get back to you with that.

Cool.

So it's this:

Lucy -- Sunday
Vinaya -- Monday
Jillian -- Wednesday
Ceilidh -- Thursday
Me -- Friday
Mel -- Saturday

Tuesday is up for grabs.

Maybe Amazon08 wants Tuesday?

I can take Tuesday but I’m in the middle of a project and I’m worried I will not able to post on time every week. If there is someone else who can take it please do so but if there are no takers I can do Tuesday. My email is mneus80@gmail.com

Amazon80 wrote: "I can take Tuesday but I’m in the middle of a project and I’m worried I will not able to post on time every week. If there is someone else who can take it please do so but if there are no takers I ..."

That's cool. As long as you can do one post a month. I'll see if theduchess wants to coordinate Tuesdays with you.