[Beacon Staff]

TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Beacon Staff on Mon Jun 23, 2014 6:18 pm

This poll is to help determine what will be the first book read and discussed by the new 'TMB Book Club', which will discuss selected books here in the Beacon forum.

Please vote in the poll only if you intend to participate in the book club.

The choice of the TMB Book Club's first book will be done by poll in a two-step process.

The first step, which is this poll, gives people a chance to express their preference among all the books that have been mentioned thus far as potential books the Book Club might read. The books have been mentioned and described either in this related forum discussion or in Nancy Shamanna's recent column (and the comments on it) here at The Beacon.

In this poll, you may vote for up to three books. You may only vote in the poll once, but you may make up to three selections when you do vote.

After this poll closes in three days, we will create a second poll which will include only the four books that got the most votes in this poll.

In that second poll, you will be able to vote for only one book.

Think of this poll as the qualifying round of the book club tournament, and the second round as the finals match.

[SteveC]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by SteveC on Tue Jun 24, 2014 1:48 am

Just wanted to thank the TMB staff for driving this process through so quickly!

I think the two-poll selection method is a GREAT idea!

I'm assuming that at some point during the first reading/discussion period the participants will have an opportunity to add more book nominations for future, first-round polling?

I would also make a suggestion that we might want to consider certain online presentations, e.g., Ted Talks, on topics that pertain to cancer treatment/research/survival in our book club discussions ... maybe in between books ... to just sort of break up the pace a bit ... during those times when maybe we're all a bit "tired" of reading or maybe it's coming up on December and we don't have time to read a book before the holidays get crazy but there might be just enough time for watching/discussing a 90 minute video. Just a thought.

S.

[Nancy Shamanna]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Nancy Shamanna on Tue Jun 24, 2014 8:56 am

Yes, I also want to thank the MB for quickly setting up two polls to choose books. As Steve C. says, December can be a busy month. In my book club we skip over the month of December, and start again in January.

If four books go to the second poll, that would actually be enough for the months of Aug., Sept. Oct. and Nov. We could read those four in the fall , and then maybe choose more for the spring, if it all works out! Just a thought. And BTW, this has to be the most democratic way of choosing books I have seen!

Also, just one small typo that I detected was that the title of the book 'The End of Your Life Book Club' left out the word 'book'. It was about a mother and child discussing books they had read..I haven't read it but both April and my mother recommended it.

[Beacon Staff]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Beacon Staff on Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:18 am

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. We try to help as much as we can!

Nancy - Thanks for catching the typo in the one book's title. We've corrected it.

Although we may want to choose the runner-up from this round of polling as the second book the group reads, it also may be a good idea to do a new round of polling in, say, mid August to select the third (and perhaps fourth) books. People participating in the club may have some new ideas for potential books to consider, and other factors could also lead people to want to consider different books (or change the way they voted in this round of polling).

If interest in the book club continues to be high, it seems likely that we'll create a separate area of the forum for the book club. We also may arrange things in the book club area of the forum so that each book the group reads also gets its own special area of the book club part of the forum. This will make it possible -- in an organized way -- for people to start different discussions about the book being read, rather than forcing the entire discussion of the book into a single discussion thread.

[Steve]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Steve on Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:57 am

TMB said: "Although we may want to choose the runner-up from this round of polling as the second book the group reads, it also may be a good idea to do a new round of polling in, say, mid August to select the third (and perhaps fourth) books. People participating in the club may have some new ideas for potential books to consider, and other factors could also lead people to want to consider different books (or change the way they voted in this round of polling)"

I wholeheartedly agree. As members come and go and as collective interests of the group ebb and flow, I think it's best we don't get ourselves locked in to a book choice until we're actually ready, or close to being ready, to begin reading the next book. I would think that maintaining flexibility in that regard will be critical to helping sustain the vitality of the group as a whole.

And as far as the book club forum organization goes, I'm thinking that will likely need to be something that can be determined as the forum grows. But certainly I would defer to the expertise of the MB staff to get things started and thereafter define options for book/thread organization.

Thanks again!

S.

[Steve]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Steve on Tue Jun 24, 2014 12:26 pm

And if I might add just this one additional comment regarding reading selections?

I have the book by Drs. Kyle and Richardson that has been nominated. It was published in 2009 and consequently the publication (which is comprised of strictly scientific/medical articles authored by many of the "usual suspects") is inarguably DATED!

As well, they are the kind of articles (scientifc articles) that TMB searches out for us already, and we in turn read and comment on. I ask this respectfully, do we really need more of that here at TMB, or in the book club?

As opposed to, for instance, some of the books that have been nominated that relate to the psychological and/or emotional support of our individual struggles? Or,even the novelesque, The Emperor of All Maladies, for that matter? Where else can we get THAT!?

Actually, It seems to me that reading material that relates more to the human side of cancer/myeloma is a logical and certainly complementary extension to the guest columns that some of you already honor us with each month.

Well, I'm just one voice here but felt the need to be heard on this particular point. I welcome and encourage others to let their opinions be known should they be so inclined.

Have to go now, I've got three acres in my front yard I need to try to mow before it rains!

Best,

S.

[Steve]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Steve on Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:10 am

Wow! At this time there are 57 total votes! Who knew!?

Ya' know ... at three votes per person, we evidently have AT LEAST 19 folks who are interested in participating in a reading/discussion group ... maybe more if everyone who has voted didn't use all of their votes!

Amazing!

Of course, at 19 participants that may prove to be too large for just one book. Maybe we might consider having 2 or 3 different books being read and discussed simultaneously and that way perhaps we can have smaller groups of say 5 or 6 readers per book discussion? And then perhaps each group would rotate to the next book so in essence we would have, for example, 3 books on the table and the 3 different reading groups doing sort of a round robin through the 3 books over the course of let's say 12 weeks?

Or, as an alternative, maybe we might want to have all book club members reading the same book but divided into 2 or 3 groups so that everyone feels they have a chance to have their comments heard/discussed more thoroughly?

Please ... let's hear other's thoughts on how to best organize our reading group(s).

S.

[Boris Simkovich]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Boris Simkovich on Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:35 am

I agree, Steve. That's a promising start.

My initial reaction to running two or three books in parallel in the book club -- right from the start -- was that it might be a tad ambitious. I also suspect that more people can participate in an online book club than in an in-person book club before the group starts to feel too large and unwieldy.

You also have to bear in mind that not everyone who voted in the poll will necessarily end up participating in the club.

However, I have to admit that you might get more involvement right from the start if, for example, you took the top 2 or 3 books from the current poll, and let different groups discuss each of those 2 or 3 books.

Likewise, it's possible that there are people who did not vote in the poll who nevertheless will join the book club once it starts actually reading books.

So it's not as easy a call as my initial reaction suggested.

[Steve]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Steve on Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:02 pm

Boris, all good points!

Sooooo, maybe for this first group reading we should go with just the one book and only one, all-inclusive group just to see how it works out? Then we can make adjustments as may be necessary with subsequent readings.

TMB's call, ultimately.

S.

[Nancy Shamanna]

Re: TMB Book Club - Poll to Choose First Book (Round 1)

by Nancy Shamanna on Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:38 pm

YEs, I am glad to see such a good response for the book club, and there is still until tomorrow noon actually for more people to vote on the poll, so there could be over 20 people reading!

It's possible that if we choose one book, not everyone may be able to find that book in the library, or as a real book, or e-book, at a bookstore. So if we did choose two books, then people would still have a choice according to their tastes in reading, and also there is a better chance of at least being able to find a book. Hopefully there would be enough people in each group to have a discussion, or some people could read both books and be in two groups. Of course, those who suggested books have already read at least one book listed in the poll.

Does that seem reasonable to you?