H&H Book Club: Guidelines!

what about a poll towards the end of the month with like 4 choices and we vote to see which we read next? enough time to grab it from the library so those of us who are cashless can take part too

I agree with Kiwi, but to be sure I think you need to be one month ahead on the choices so for instance if you were choosing a read for the month of June you would have to have the choice done by end of April. Also one book a month to read sounds about right. Weekly updates/discussions sound good. I vote for always a romance novel.

Include the poll as Kiwi suggested and I think you have the perfect set of book club rules! Let's get started!

Brad Pitt shirtless in Fight Club....whatever you say....

I would like to avoid books in the middle of ongoing series, if posible. Other than that, sounds good to me!

Yes, include the poll as Kiwi suggested, and give us poor folks some lead time, at least 4 weeks and preferably 6.

I agree with Poppy ... let's start!

I agree with wslo612 -
book selection at least one month ahead or even more. I have such a large TBR pile I feel like I'm cheating when I slip a book to the top of The Pile.

I like/read/love Romance Books but there's quite a varity within that genre. I'd like to see them all eventually selected; in my experience whenever there is voting clubs seem to veer heavily toward Historicals. No idea why; I'm not judging, just saying I prefer variety.

@CCRead --- Yes, push us out of our comfort zones. Contemporary, historical, fantastical, sweet, erotic, paranormal, YA, Christian, classics, brand-new authors, categories, individual titles --- they're all good!

In fact, make it a guideline: can't have the same kind of book back-to-back. However, you can have contemporary romance-contemporary paranormal.

So, CCRead --- how do you feel about a Regency-western-medieval lineup? Too much historical in one place, or are they different enough?

I like the idea of voting on the reading selection and having a month or so lead time to acquire the book.

A variety of genres is probably best - helps avoid boredom. Possibly voting on the next genre/sub-genre to be read might a good idea. Of course, that can be handled in the regular reading selection vote.

@Rose, I think Regency, Western and medieval are different enough, but it wouldn't hurt to make the one after all of that be PNR, UF, or some other contemporary, science fiction or futuristic romance just to mix things up.

Now, what to do with (short) series? If it's a two- or three-book series, like the Shades Of Gray books, should we try to read them all in a two- or three-month period? Or space them out, with other books in between to cleanse the mental palate?

I had something like this in mind: Let's have a theme. Like Irish book few post earlier, writer month, or romance with artists, or books with pink covers or...whatever....Posibilites are endless. H & H team picks a theme, we make sugestions, we vote... one book wins.

These are all good ideas, and yes, giving us all lead time to retrieve the books from the library or whatever is essential (I'm cheap, too!).

Definitely not reading the same genre two months in a row, perhaps choosing the genre two months out, and then the book one month out.

I'll let the post go for a few more days, then post the guidelines, and we can begin. Thanks, guys!

I agree with previous posts on mixing it up but as for series "issues" I think it's a close call. Many of the series are interconnected but not necessarily dependent on one another so I don't worry if I read in the middle of one, it depends on whether or not the book reveals something important from an earlier book in the series. For example in many historical romance series the most that would be revealed in book 4 is that the characters in the previous books are now in their HEA, no suprise. So I'm on the fence about reading in the middle of the series, although if I have my options I do like to start with book#1 :-)

I'm up for any and all. Definitely Romance novels, obviously. But the guidelines and such... I'm open. The only forseeable problem for me is that I read fast and a lot. Which means if I read the book a month ahead of time, I'm going to forget half of it by the time we get to discuss it.. but I can always read it the week before we start discussing and I should be fine.
I'm excited!!!
And yes, if we do a series, ALWAYS start with book #1.

I've recently discovered this site and love the idea of the book club. Is it optional to read the book each month?

Yay! I'm so excited...

Now I'm going to watch Fight Club

This is a fantastic idea! There have been so many times I've read a book that I was excited about and had no one to discuss it with. I was late to Hunger Games so everyone had already talked about it, but I was fresh off the final book and so keyed up with nowhere to vent it! So I look forward to a format to discuss an exciting book that is fresh on all participants minds. All the guidelines suggested so far are great. I do get alot of books from the library, so lead time is preferrable. I love all genres too. I'm not sure about the "series" issue. I read alot of series and I would love to discuss those as well. I'll be okay with however that issue is decided. I just love this place!!

I am so excited about this book club!! I can't wait! I agree with all of the rules so far. As far a dealing with series', like most I prefer to start with book one, but I would not be adverse to one that was in the middle of a series, unless that particular writer had a tightly woven cast of characters or a particularly murky timeline.

YAY a Book Club. Oooo I love Fight Club, almost as much as I love the peanut butter scene from Meet Joe Black (oh to be a spoon)..... No new ideas to add at this time for guidelines, I like the ones that have already been proposed.

I like the idea of a poll. I also agree we should skip series unless it is the first book of a series. I like the time for the poll as well so there is plenty of notice to track down the books. I like the idea of themes but don't want to consistently read one type of book or the other so having some different genres to choose from each time would be great.

i'm aboard !!!!! different books for different genres !!! paranormal group, urban romance groups, mystery groups, include everyone !!!!

im on board to love the idea of the book club yayyyyyyy

Sounds good to me. On series like "50", I think we read one, the first, and then whoever wants to read the others are on their own. This gives us a chance to sample a series without having to commit to reading all of it if some of us don't like it. Sufficient lead time is also a good thing, 4-5 weeks so folks can get a paycheck in to buy the book or put it on reserve at the library and get it in. Mix up the type/time period, etc so we get variety. I'm not fond of YA or Christian but those would be a push for me to move out of my zone of paranormal that I read most of the time.

I'm in. (I'm crazy, doing reviews, writing my own, and now this, but I'm in). :D

Hmmm Brad Pitt, what is this discusion about again?

I like the idea of being able to recieve a choice of books. My question, is it possible to add the choice of e-book rather than paper? I'm thinking abour space availability.
I agree with Charlayne and others about not offering books that are in the middle of series.

I personally love all things romance, but what about reading/discussing books that fit in with the title of the group: heroes and heartbreakers? You could chose any genre of books as long as it featured a heroe or a heartbreaker! I also like the idea of a month long discussion where there is plenty of time for people to post, discuss and join in!

Kiwi's suggestion works for me. I also agree with Bungluna that if it is part of a series we should try to begin at the start not in the middle or the end. Most of my favorite authors write multiple book series now.

great idea for a book club! never could go along with oprahs choices, the books were never fun or exciting.. yes to: voting on the following months title (i am a library girl 40%of the time); keeping in the romance area but explore all the genres; no middle of the series books unless they could be considered standalone..

Love, love this idea. All genre's welcomed. Note that current paperbacks are generally not in my library branches only old ones that have been donated. Selection from a series not excluded. Each book should be able to stand on its own merit. At the end of the day we probably read it all anyway - the good, the bad and the ugly.

I agree with not mid-series.
As to 'just romance'--by which definition? Some sci-fi and fantasy are romantic without being 'romance'. (Linnea Sinclair comes to mind. As does Patty Briggs' Dragon Bones.)
I sure would love to have the occasional audio book included. The added dimension of narrator is fun. (And does anyone else feel weird about having some man narrating a particularly sexy scene in a romance novel?)
Can we exclude ones with TSTL heroines?

My first book club - so excited. I agree with Charlene on all points but especially about only reading book 1 of a series. That way if someone doesn't like it they don't have to continue and if they do they can go it on their own. Looking forward to meeting some new authors and I am open to all types of books. Especially like the contemporary and historical romance but you never know what will hit you unless you try something new.

I agree about not starting in the middle of a series. I like the poll idea too. And a couple weeks or month notice before the read starts would be good for having enough time to get the book & time to finish a book one may be in the middle of reading.

Sorry about the misspell of name - Charlayne

A book club awesome. Im in so many but still love a new one. good things to start with i think. But yes, as it has been said no books in the middle of the series. Lets get to it! lol

@Aryn-One reader's TSTL heroine is another's zany madcap. I have a low tolerance for zany, so I avoid a lot of books that sound like it.

A book club should 'encourage' me out of my rut and introduce me to new authors.

Oooo, love this idea! Where do we sign up?

I am up to reading anything with romance in it. It's fun to discover new genres that I don't normally read, such as YA or Western Romance...?

Chelle

I love the idea of a book club. It's a great way to share awesome reads and a great way to discover new and exciting recommendations.
Weekly discussions for sure.
I prefer to stick with PNR, and UF.
Just sayin!!!

I'm onboard with the bookclub thing. Even though I live in Australia at least 10 months out of the year, I'm a US citizen with a US address for my Kindle, so I can get hold of anything available there. Still, if the books chosen aren't available overseas (and you would be shocked at how many aren't) that might leave some overseas readers out in the cold. That might be a consideration when choosing books.

Love the book club idea. Like Button says please make sure that the books are available everywhere

Please I agree with the comments of it not being a part of an on going series and also that the book is available internationally because i'd love to join in

HI what about the books we read ( selling them on this site so whomever would like to buy them can if they cant find them in the stores ) i know there are tons of books that is on the site that i would love to get and read but cant find them around my town just a suggestion what do everyone think?

Like the idea of a poll at least a month ahead.
Like the idea that if we're trying an author like example: J.R. Ward that we read her first book and not the latest and then if we wish to continue with the series we can on our own time.
If we have weekly discussion, we'd have to take care of the issue of spoilers. Maybe I example: Week 1. Chapters 1-10 and that way you can participate if you want without fear or "Can you believe the killer was this person...!"
My biggest issue will be, being able to locate the books. I'm from a small town and hopefully will be able to find the books at a used bookstore in the "big city" because my library doesn't carry the books I enjoy reading...

Let's get started!!!!!

I'm in too