October Horror-Themed ReadaThing Anyone?
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1VampAmber
If I could get enough people to help me out, I'd love to try my hand at (helping) running a ReadaThing for Halloween. Maybe run it the last week of October, and encourage everybody to read horror novels and ghost stories and whatnot. Would anybody be interested in help me out? And if you don't want to help out, would anybody else be interested in participating?
Stem: If a Halloween ReadaThing were to happen, I would either help make it happen, or just read during it to make it a success.
Huidige stand: Ja 16, Nee 0
2VampAmber
And to see how many people I could get to help me out, another poll!If you don't want to run, but do want to read, pick the "No" option. Thanks. ^_^
Stem: I would love to help out with the making and running of a ReadaThing in October.
Huidige stand: Ja 3, Nee 7, Onbeslist 2
3jjmcgaffey
I'd be happy to back up a RaT in October - being a resource, fixing the wiki as needed, that sort of thing. Don't think I'd be up to leading or co-leading one. But I'll certainly read, if it happens.
6majkia
I'll be working my tail off at Early Voting but will hopefully get some reading done during that week.
7PaperbackPirate
Let me know how I can help!
8VampAmber
Looks like this is most likely going to be happening. Yays! When abouts would be the best time for me to start setting things up?
9jjmcgaffey
Last week in October - I'd start with the time charts now, because the first time you do them it's a bit...well, not hard, but you (or I, at least) have to keep going back and fixing things you realize you missed. Tell Jeremy (jbd1) so he can change the group description on this group (he's still the admin); tell Lorannen so it will get into the next newsletter (brain blank, what - ah, right, the State of the Thing is the name). Post an announcement thread here within the next week (and the wiki page, linked in it), and then post in Talk about LibraryThing pointing to that thread - maybe in Book Talk too, maybe a few other places (but don't spam everywhere).
I'd say start setting up now, and get the first stuff done this week. Then you have about two-three weeks off; about a week before the RaT begins post the "what will you be reading" thread, then post the Logbook as the RaT begins. And during that "time off", you (and all the rest of us) will be keeping an eye on the announcement and then the reading thread, for anyone who needs help with the wiki etc.
BTW, for the announcement thread (and the reading, and the logbook...) - just steal a recent one and fiddle with it a little. That's what we've done the last few times. There's a lot of points that need to be covered, using a boilerplate makes it much easier to make sure they get in.
I'd say start setting up now, and get the first stuff done this week. Then you have about two-three weeks off; about a week before the RaT begins post the "what will you be reading" thread, then post the Logbook as the RaT begins. And during that "time off", you (and all the rest of us) will be keeping an eye on the announcement and then the reading thread, for anyone who needs help with the wiki etc.
BTW, for the announcement thread (and the reading, and the logbook...) - just steal a recent one and fiddle with it a little. That's what we've done the last few times. There's a lot of points that need to be covered, using a boilerplate makes it much easier to make sure they get in.
10VampAmber
Before I start making anything official yet, is everybody cool with the 25th-31st of October being the dates for the ReadaThing?For any answers of no, please explain why. I want everybody to be as happy with this ReadaThing as possible, since it's my first one.
Stem: I like the October ReadaThing being held from the 25th until the 31st of October.
Huidige stand: Ja 11, Nee 0, Onbeslist 2
11imyril
I may now have to make a family-related trip up north that week, but it's currently unconfirmed. If I don't, I'll read up a storm with glee; if I do, I'll read what I can, but will be quite constrained. I'm still happy to support in the run up!
12lorannen
I'll definitely be reading, either way. I'll keep an eye on this thread, and be sure to get it on the blog/next State of the Thing, if it ends up happening!
13LucindaLibri
>1 VampAmber:
Just a reminder: there are step-by-step instructions on everything you need to do at
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/ReadaThingHowTo
One of those things is to let Loranne know by mid-month so she can put something in the SOTT . . . but it looks like she's already on board :)
There's also a template for the Wiki page at
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/ReadaThing-Wiki-TEMPLATE
I'm not a fan of horror, but I do usually read some Poe on Halloween so I'll at least join in a bit on that day.
Just a reminder: there are step-by-step instructions on everything you need to do at
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/ReadaThingHowTo
One of those things is to let Loranne know by mid-month so she can put something in the SOTT . . . but it looks like she's already on board :)
There's also a template for the Wiki page at
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/ReadaThing-Wiki-TEMPLATE
I'm not a fan of horror, but I do usually read some Poe on Halloween so I'll at least join in a bit on that day.
14Gavriella
I think that's a great idea. However, why not make it for the whole month of October instead of the last week? I have tons of horror books to read.
15.Monkey.
>14 Gavriella: Because that would get really unwieldy, not to mention dragging on, lost interest, etc. If you are in any of the annual groups, I would advise asking there if anyone would be interested in a month-long horror focus, you'd probably get some reception.
16VampAmber
Is there anybody who could take this project over for me? The last few weeks dumped an all-you-can-eat supply of stress on me, and I'm not sure if I'm going to have the time to throw all this together properly, and this definitely deserves the best attention it can get. I might be able to help with the actual running, but the putting together the wiki and sending out the releases and such is a bit beyond me at the moment. I do apologize for getting everybody's hopes up, because I really did think I'd be able to do this when I started out. I'm really sorry. :( I blame life, and its messed up sense of humor.
17jjmcgaffey
>16 VampAmber: I can do the pre-stuff (wiki, threads, etc), but I can't do the start - I'll be away from the computer basically all that weekend (Friday the 24th to Sunday the 26th). Could you handle that part? The start thread (Logbook) at the proper time, then encouraging comments and help as needed.
Life's sneaky that way - it's when you have a lot planned that a lot gets dumped on you. I've had that, too...
Life's sneaky that way - it's when you have a lot planned that a lot gets dumped on you. I've had that, too...
18imyril
>17 jjmcgaffey: I can tag team - I'm away from 17-22 and I don't know how much internet access I'll have, but I'm back from the 23rd and can post Logbook threads and be helpful and supportive through the read!
19jjmcgaffey
OK, looks like it will work. I'll get the wiki up this evening, and a thread or two.
20VampAmber
I can handle the supporting throughout part easily. It was the setting up the wiki and the publicity bits that would've been a bit much for me right now. I'm not too great with computers, so there's no telling how the wiki set up would've gone for me, and I wouldn't have the first clue how to go about doing publicity on this site. But I can gladly encourage people along. I'm great at motivating people (other than myself). And I'm a whiz with cutting and pasting. ^_^
Thank you so much for helping out. I didn't realize that I had bitten off way more than I could chew when I decided to do the majority of this by myself. I'm thinking next time I try, start much sooner, and get lots of help. Those two things would definitely fix a lot of the problems I had this time. If I start another month or so earlier than I did with this one, even if life kicks my butt around the block near the start, most of it would already have been finished.
Thank you so much for helping out. I didn't realize that I had bitten off way more than I could chew when I decided to do the majority of this by myself. I'm thinking next time I try, start much sooner, and get lots of help. Those two things would definitely fix a lot of the problems I had this time. If I start another month or so earlier than I did with this one, even if life kicks my butt around the block near the start, most of it would already have been finished.
21jjmcgaffey
Ok, initial setup done (and as usual, I had to remake the PDF and the timeline about three times. Moscow was fun! Web research...). I'll post the What will you be reading next week, then leave it to imyril or VampAmber to post the Logbook (discuss among yourselves...).
And because I don't do horror, I've toned down the theme - suggested ways to make it milder, or that readers can skip it entirely if they like. But those who want to can do pure horror, of course!
And because I don't do horror, I've toned down the theme - suggested ways to make it milder, or that readers can skip it entirely if they like. But those who want to can do pure horror, of course!
22MsMaryAnn
I'm on board to read. Horror is definitely out of my comfort zone, so for that reason I challenge myself to read a creepy, scary, horror book. Thanks to Polymathicmonkey for piquing my interest in the new group Horror!
I have an eerie feeling I've been missing out on some great books.
I have an eerie feeling I've been missing out on some great books.
24Peace2
>23 .Monkey.: Although I'm not really a horror reader, I've joined the group to try and find some things that tempt - I may only read along with the month's theme occasionally (too many books to be read) but the guidance will be helpful for the Readathing too. I've had to see which of the books in my collection have been given a horror tag (by checking to see what other users have tagged it) - I'm surprised by some of them - I'm hoping that they do in fact fit the bill - so far I have lined up to choose from the Night Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko (hopefully will get through at least one of these, also The Day of the Triffids, Congo by Michael Crichton, The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, When the Wind Blows by James Patterson and Frankenstein.
If anyone who's more of a 'horror' expert could advise me further, I'm more than willing to listen - as mentioned above I'm purely relying on adding the horror tag to my collection by what comes up when I look at the suggested by LT tags which I presume is the tags most used by other people.
If anyone who's more of a 'horror' expert could advise me further, I'm more than willing to listen - as mentioned above I'm purely relying on adding the horror tag to my collection by what comes up when I look at the suggested by LT tags which I presume is the tags most used by other people.
25.Monkey.
>24 Peace2: I looooove the Night Watch series, one of my absolute favorites. They're only semi-horror, really, more like "dark fantasy," but people are loose with the definition of horror (like I mentioned in the thread over there ;)) so, it can easily count. It's definitely related enough for a Halloween "horror" theme! :) Congo isn't bad, I always liked Crichton's stories, and it wasn't nearly as cheesy as the movie (which I do enjoy, but, still, haha). I am, as I said, always happy to help with horror! But I'm not sure what you're looking for right now...?
26Peace2
>25 .Monkey.: It was more a matter of whether those titles I mentioned above would actually fit into the 'horror' genre (it was a revelation to me that there were so many different types of horror and some of those I have no idea what I would expect!). I think that in all likelihood if I try Congo and the first of the Night Watch series - that will probably be enough for the ReadaThing and then I'll have to see what I can do from January onwards to read something each month that fits with the Horror Group (hopefully without too many book bullets being necessary - or perhaps I'll need to start raiding my sister's shelves - I know she's a Stephen King fan). I also have a feeling that 'dark fantasy' might be more my line than things which are too dark and terrifying (is there such a thing as 'horror-lite'? *grin* I do still want to be able to sleep at night!)
27imyril
>26 Peace2: I've got very little horror (and none of it unread) but have been meaning to revisit Night Watch, so I might readalong with you :)
28Peace2
>27 imyril: Sounds like a plan!
29VampAmber
Thanks again for taking over. As for thoughts on what I'm planning on reading, I'm thinking of just tackling the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. The ebook that I have is incredibly long (1,000+ pages), but maybe I can get through at least some of it in the week of the ReadaThing. Might even bust out my Haunted Ohio series, reread those for the 50th or so time. Horror's my favorite genre, so I have plenty on my to-read list to pick from.
30jjmcgaffey
No problem, and have fun!
31Peace2
Have managed to acquire an audio book of The Small Hand by Susan Hill which states it's a ghost story - so I shall hang on to this until the week of the ReadaThing (and try my hardest to ignore the fact that I'm curious NOW! I do have some willpower - and a bunch of other audiobooks that I should finish first!)
32.Monkey.
>31 Peace2: I'm curious about her work. I thought the relatively recent movie they did of hers, something Black... Woman in Black? something like that, was really lame (didn't help that sooooo many people were raving how "omg scariest thing evarrr!!1!" including those who claim to be immune to horror but "oh my gosh it was actually really creepy!" and whatever) and the main character was just so stupid and urgh, but I hear the book is (unsurprisingly) better, so I'd like to see what her actual work is like. I hope you enjoy that one!
33Peace2
>32 .Monkey.: I hadn't realised the movie (or should I say the book behind the movie) was by the same author although now you've mentioned that looking at the case it does say that she's written over 40 books including the story from which the stage play "The Woman in Black" is adapted which has been running in the West End since 1989.
I shall report back on my thoughts when I listen...
I shall report back on my thoughts when I listen...
34imyril
>32 .Monkey.: >33 Peace2: The Woman in Black is excellent - different to the film, and not one to read late on an autumn afternoon with rain pouring down and dark falling early ;) ...that said, I was fairly young when I first read it, so I was no doubt impressionable! The play is superb - 2 men and a smattering of props and the power of storytelling.
I enjoyed The Small Hand too,although I remember being a bit disappointed at the end - and Dolly. They're not scary horror, but they have creepy down just fine.
I enjoyed The Small Hand too,
36majkia
#34 by imyril> I absolutely adore her mystery series Simon Serailler beginning with The Various Haunts of Men