Archive for the ‘One LibraryThing One Book’ Category

Thursday, May 31st, 2018

Group Read/Movie Night June 2018

Last week, we asked you to vote on a slate of four candidates for our next One LibraryThing, One Book read, along with an accompanying film adaptation, which will be our next LT Movie Night. Thanks to all of you who voted!

Our Winner

With 164 members in favor, Neil Gaiman’s Stardust made the final cut (with Atonement and The Price of Salt coming in close together. Meanwhile, Into the Wild got more votes against than for!

Originally published in 1998, Stardust will be our first fantasy book we’ve taken on for OLOB. The story follows an young man on a quest to bring back a star to win the (romantic) favor of a particular young woman. Of course, it turns out the star has other ideas, which lend themselves to quite an adventure.

The book also has a graphic novel version, featuring art by Charles Vess. Folks reading along are welcome to choose which edition they’d prefer to read.

The film of the same name was released in 2007, and is available to stream on Netflix in the US. Both the book and film should be readily available at most local libraries, too!

Details

If you haven’t joined us for One LibraryThing, One Book before, I encourage you to stop by the introductory blog post to catch up on the basics.

Official discussion for the book will begin Monday, June 25th, at 12pm EDT. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early to get started! If you’d like to get a jump on talking to your fellow readers, “Introduce Yourself” thread. Have you read Stardust before, or want to get discussion going while it’s still in progress? Share your (spoiler-free) thoughts in the “First Impressions” thread.

Movie Night

We’ll post reminders as the date draws near, but our 2nd-ever LibraryThing Movie Night will take place Friday, June 29th, at 9pm EDT. By that point, book discussion will be well underway, and this will add more to it!

We hope that everyone who voted (particularly those whose top pick won!) will join us for the read! General questions or comments about One LibraryThing, One Book, are, as always, welcome here. Stay tuned to the One LibraryThing, One Book group for updates!

Labels: fun, movie event, One LibraryThing One Book

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018

Vote for June’s group read & movie night

This June, we’re gearing up for a double feature: we’re back for another round of the site-wide group read, One LibraryThing, One Book (OLOB) plus, we’re combining this with the next LibraryThing Movie Night—we’ll be reading a book together, as well as watching the film adaptation. And we need your help picking which book/movie combo to discuss!

LT Staff got together and came up with a slate of four books and film adaptations—we think we’ve got a group with a little something for everyone. On to the nominees:

Vote!

Voting will remain open for one week—from now until Thurs., May 31st, at 12:00pm EDT.

» Go vote for your favorites now!

We’re using LibraryThing’s own poll system this time. This allows members to vote “yes,” “no,” or “undecided” on each book/movie pair, so you can express both your likes and your dislikes. We’ve assigned point values to each response, and the book/movie with the most points at the end of voting will be our selections.

Then what?

We’ll announce the winner as soon as voting ends on May 31st. We want to give everyone ample time to acquire and read the book, so discussion will start on Monday, June 25th. LT Movie night for the accompanying film will be later that same week, on Friday, June 29th.

More

If you’re unfamiliar with One LibraryThing, One Book, or want to see what we’ve read in the past, check out our OLOB blog archive. You can also see our last LT Movie Night selection here.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them on Talk, or drop me a line at loranne@librarything.com.

Labels: fun, movie event, One LibraryThing One Book

Monday, July 24th, 2017

Group Read: Homo Deus

We’re back for another round of the site-wide group read, One LibraryThing, One Book (OLOB).

With Yuval Noah Harari’s Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, we’re venturing into new territory for OLOB—non-fiction! We’ve been talking about tackling a non-fiction book for a group read for some time now, and we think this is a pick that will inspire lively discussion.

Details

For the uninitiated, here’s how One LibraryThing, One Book works.

We want to give everyone ample time to acquire and read the book, so discussion will start four weeks from today, on Monday, August 21st at 9am Eastern.

Prior to August 21st, we ask that members not create any new Talk topics for Homo Deus. On/after the 21st, go right ahead!

More

If you have any questions about One LibraryThing, One Book, or want to see what we’ve read in the past, check out our OLOB blog archive.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them in the One LibraryThing, One Book group, or drop me a line at loranne@librarything.com.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book, reading

Monday, February 27th, 2017

One LibraryThing, One Book: Interpreter of Maladies

We’re back for another round of the site-wide group read, One LibraryThing, One Book (OLOB).

This month’s pick is the Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. We’ve wanted to try short stories for a change of pace—this is new territory for OLOB! We’ll also be dividing the book up into sections, and reading a new section every week, to help keep us all on the same page (pun intended), timing-wise.

Details

For the uninitiated, here’s how One LibraryThing, One Book works.

Preliminary discussion will begin on Wednesday, March 1st, at 12pm Eastern. Except for the dedicated thread, discussion will remain spoiler-free. From there, we’ll proceed as follows:

  • March 8th Stories 1-3
  • March 15th Stores 4-6
  • March 22nd Stories 7-9

So, by Wednesday, March 22nd, we should aim to have read the entire book. Each story will have a dedicated thread on Talk, in addition to broader question threads.

Prior to March 1st, we ask that members not create any new Talk topics for Interpreter of Maladies. On the 1st, go right ahead!

More

If you have any questions about One LibraryThing, One Book, or want to see what we’ve read in the past, check out our OLOB blog archive.

After Interpreter of Maladies, we’re aiming for a new OLOB pick every two to three months. For the next one, we’ll probably be voting on our next pick.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them in the One LibraryThing, One Book group, or drop me a line at loranne@librarything.com.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book, reading

Thursday, October 22nd, 2015

One LibraryThing, One Book: Slade House

We’re back for another round of the site-wide group read, One LibraryThing, One Book.

This month’s pick is the upcoming novel from Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks author, David Mitchell, entitled Slade House. Out October 27th, Slade House is a riff on the haunted house story, and explores five different characters’ encounters with the titular Slade House, spanning from 1979 to the present day. It’s a standalone novel, which also takes place in the same universe as last year’s The Bone Clocks. If you’re a fan of Mitchell’s work, or just like a good spooky tale (especially about creepy, old houses), I think you’ll enjoy this one!

UPDATE: I recently had the opportunity to interview author David Mitchell! For more on Slade House and his work, check it out!

Details

For the uninitiated, here’s how One LibraryThing, One Book works.

Official discussion will begin on Monday, November 9th, at 12pm Eastern. Slade House is a very quick, shot read, so we will not be breaking this one up into chunks as we have with past OLOB picks. Until discussion kickoff, we ask that members not create any new Talk topics for Slade House. On the 9th, go right ahead!

More

If you have any questions about One LibraryThing, One Book, or want to see what we’ve read in the past, check out our OLOB blog archive.

After Slade House, we’ll be taking a bit of a break until the new year, at which point we’ll be voting on our next OLOB pick.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to post them in the One LibraryThing, One Book group, or drop me a line at loranne@librarything.com.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Thursday, May 21st, 2015

One LibraryThing, One Book: The Night Watch

This June, we’re finally bringing back One LibraryThing, One Book. June being LGBT Pride Month, we wanted to join in the festivities with our OLOB choice. I give you The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.

Shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize, The Night Watch is set in 1940s London during and after World War II. The story follows the disparate lives of five main characters during this period, and the secrets they have in common, although their experiences are different.

Details

Since it’s been a while, here’s a quick refresher on how One LibraryThing, One Book works.

To participate, be sure to join the One LibraryThing, One Book group. That’s where all discussion will be taking place. Say “hi” on the “Introduce Yourself” thread, or tell us what you think as you read over on the “First Impressions” thread.

We’re going to do things a bit differently this time around. Official discussion for The Night Watch will kick off Monday, June 1st at 12pm Eastern. I know that’s nowhere near enough time for readers to have already finished the book—we’ll be breaking this one up into chunks. On June 1st, we’ll only be discussing the book and the events therein through Chapter 3—the 1947 section. LT Staff will be posting a few starter questions right before 12pm that day, after which point the floodgates open and other members are welcome to post their own questions and discussion topics.

From there, we’ll be reading about 150 pages every two weeks over the next six weeks. You can read ahead, of course, but we ask that members keep discussion topics spoiler-free for events beyond the set reading point. Here’s a full list of how we’ll be breaking it down:

  • June 1: 1947 section, all
  • June 15: 1944 section, chapters 1-3
  • June 29: 1944 section, chapters 4-5
  • July 13: 1941 section, all

More

If you’re disappointed we didn’t give members the option of voting on this OLOB pick, don’t worry. We’ll be bringing back voting for future OLOB reads. We just wanted to get this one off the ground quickly.

You can also find more information about what inspired OLOB in our original introductory blog post, and you can see past selections by hitting the One LibraryThing, One Book tag on the blog.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book, reading

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

One LibraryThing, One Book: June 2014

Last week, we presented another slate of four candidates for our next One LibraryThing, One Book read, and asked for your opinions. Thanks to all of you who voted!

Our Winner

With 154 members voting, three of our selections (The Age of Miracles, Salvage the Bones, and The Flamethrowers—in that order) were extremely close. That said, The Penelopiad blew those other three out of the water entirely, and was our clear winner!

Originally published in 2005 as part of the Canongate Myth Series, The Penelopiad follows the experiences of Penelope, Odysseus’s wife, throughout the events of Homer’s Odyssey. It’s an interesting take on revisiting a familiar, classic narrative through a different perspective.

Details

If you haven’t joined us for One LibraryThing, One Book before, I encourage you to stop by the introductory blog post to catch up on the basics.

Official discussion for The Penelopiad will kick off Monday, June 2nd, at 12pm Eastern. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early to get started! If you’ll be reading along with us, or are still considering it, come say “hi,” in the “Introduce Yourself” thread. Have you read The Penelopiad before, or want to get discussion going while it’s still in progress? Share your (spoiler-free) thoughts in the “First Impressions” thread.

We hope that everyone who voted (particularly those whose top pick won!) will join us for the read! General questions or comments about One LibraryThing, One Book, are, as always, welcome here. Stay tuned to the One LibraryThing, One Book group for updates!

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014

Vote for June’s One LibraryThing, One Book

It’s time for our next round of One LibraryThing, One Book! Just like our selection process for the February and March picks, we’re asking for your input.

We had so many great books on our list this time that we couldn’t pick only three, so we’ve got a slate of four. Come rank the titles you’d like to see, and discuss with the community! The winner will be set and announced on Thursday, May 1st, at 11am Eastern.

» Go here or click on any of the covers below to vote!

More Info

We’ll be announcing our winner in another blog post on May 1st. You’re encouraged to start reading right away!

Official discussion will begin on Monday, June 2nd, at 12pm Eastern. As always, we’ll have the “Introduce Yourself” and “First Impressions” threads, for those who’d like to share their thoughts while reading. Stay tuned to the One LibraryThing, One Book group for updates!

If you’re new to One LibraryThing, One Book, be sure to check out the original blog post that started it all.

Questions? Comments?

As always, general questions/comments about One LibraryThing, One Book, are welcome on this thread.

Join us here to discuss the titles up for vote!

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Friday, January 10th, 2014

The February and March Group Read Winners Are…

Last week the staff here at LibraryThing came up with a list of candidates for our next two One LibraryThing, One Book selections, and put them up for a vote. The results are in!

February

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dracula and Frankenstein were pretty neck-and-neck (ha!), but Oscar Wilde’s only published novel won with an impressive lead. Dublin City Public Libraries tackled this one as a One City, One Book read a few years ago, too.

Official discussion will begin on February 10th at 12pm Eastern. Thinking about joining us for this read? Introduce yourself, or look for the threads labeled “Dorian Gray,” over on the One LibraryThing, One Book group.

For now, staff will be creating new threads, but feel free to start your own come February 10! You might also want to make use of our new Spoiler feature, if you’d rather not ruin the plot for others.

March

American Gods

In another landslide victory, Neil Gaiman’s meandering journey through deities from pantheons the world over beat out The Poisonwood Bible and, the 18th most-added book on LibraryThing for December, Where’d You Go, Bernadette.

Official discussion for American Gods will begin on March 10th at 12pm Eastern, but feel free to get started early! If you’d like to join us for this read, Introduce yourself to the group, and look for threads labeled “American Gods” on the One LibraryThing, One Book group page.

As above, staff will be handling creating new threads for American Gods until official discussion begins on March 10. Prior to that date, please use Spoiler tags liberally! After that point, all group members are free to start new threads.

More?

I hope you’ll join us for one—if not both—of these reads! If you have any general One LibraryThing, One Book questions or feedback, those are always welcome in this thread.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Friday, January 3rd, 2014

Vote for One LibraryThing, One Book

One LibraryThing, One Book is kicking off the new year with a referendum! Following considerable discussion, and a concerted staff huddle, we’ve collected a few options for both February’s and March’s One LibraryThing, One Book.

Come rank the titles you’d like to read and discuss with the community!

Winners will be finally set on January 10th, at 10am Eastern.

February 10: Classic Horror

Click to vote | Discussion topic

March 10: Contemporary Fiction

Click to vote | Discussion topic

More Information

Reading will begin as soon as voting closes, and we announce the winners in a blog post.

Discussion for February starts on the 10th at 12 noon Eastern time.

You can read through each (or either) title at their own speed. We will also create continuations of “Introduce Yourself” and “First Impressions” threads. As before, please keep these threads spoiler-free before the discussion officially begins.

Discussion for March starts March 10th at 12 noon Eastern time.

If you’re new to One LibraryThing, One Book, be sure to read through our original blog post.

We had a quite successful first OLOB; almost 100 members joined our discussions about The Circle, and we posted over 1,000 comments collectively. The dystopian novel sparked many topics concerning current online privacy issues and future predictions both good and bad (but mostly bad). We may encounter similar discussion topics, depending on which book is chosen, so keep this in mind when voting. No matter what, I think we’ll end up with some excellent selections!

How the Titles Were Picked

The titles were picked by the LibraryThing team, attempting to take praise and criticism of the last pick into consideration. All the books are widely available in libraries, as paperbacks and in the used market. All are highly regarded and have good ratings—Frankenstein and Dracula somewhat lower, probably because they’re often assigned in schools.

To discuss the selection further, come see the Talk topic here.

Questions? Comments?

As always, general questions/comments about One LibraryThing, One Book, are welcome on this thread.

Happy voting!

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Thursday, October 31st, 2013

Special The Circle giveaway for UK members

Happy Halloween, everyone! I promise only treats, and no tricks today. As One LibraryThing, One Book continues to grow, I’m already halfway through the book, and we’ve got some great discussions going.

I have exciting news for UK members interested in joining us. Penguin UK has offered us 10 copies to give away to members located in the UK! Click here for your chance to score one. Please note, since this is a special give away, time is short, and we’ll be closing the giveaway for requests on Sunday, November 3rd at 6pm Eastern.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013

One LibraryThing, One Book Update

I’m thrilled at the response we’ve gotten regarding our first One LibraryThing, One Book project. We already have 101 members in our Talk group, and it’s been growing every day.

I have some great news for Canadian members interested in joining us. Knopf Canada has been kind enough to offer 10 copies for us to give away to members in Canada. Click here for your chance to score one. Please note, since this is a special give away, time is short, and we’ll be closing the giveaway for requests on Friday at 6pm Eastern.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

One LibraryThing, One Book

In the grand tradition of The Big Read and One City, One Book projects everywhere, LibraryThing is beginning its first ever, LibraryThing-wide read. It’s a bit of an experiment, and there has been much discussion on Talk about how to make it work.

For our first One LibraryThing, One Book selection, we’ll be reading Dave Eggers‘s The Circle. This one is a bit of an ironic pick by Tim—a dystopia about social networking, ha ha. If it doesn’t strike your fancy, don’t worry—in the future, we’ll expand the selection process to allow for member voting, in some fashion.

Get involved

Discussion starts November 18
In the interest of keeping discussion lively and spoiler-free, we’re setting the start date for discussion of The Circle as Monday, November 18th, at 9pm Eastern. Prior to that time, please use the “Introduce Yourself” or “First Impressions” threads to talk about your thoughts on the book as you’re reading.

Ten free copies up for grabs!
Thanks to the nice folks at Knopf, we’ve got 10 free copies of The Circle up for grabs, as a special extra batch in Early Reviewers. Go here to request one!

Questions? Comments?
You can check out and contribute to the discussion that spawned this project on Talk.

Labels: One LibraryThing One Book