Got Books?

[becke_davis]

Hi everyone! I just sent out the latest batch of Got Books? - the smallest number of packages I've ever sent. AND that was after I search every author thread (guest blogs and features) as well as other discussion threads (the welcome thread, the American Classics thread, etc.).

I made a list of everyone who posted comments, and those of you who posted three or more times have packages coming. Mimosa Island doesn't count - that thread is just for fun. Got Books? is an incentive to encourage you to chat on author threads primarily, but I'll count any thread where books are the main topic of conversation. Lately I've even been counting "What are you reading now?"

I'm not here to nag. I just want to explain why some of you aren't receiving packages this month.

Since the number of packages I've been mailing has been going down recently, I'm wondering if Got Books? has run its course.

I wish I could have contests here, but B&N doesn't allow those. I'll have to come up with something different, that still fits in the B&N guidelines.

What would make this board more interesting?

If you don't normally comment, what would inspire you to do so?

If you comment occasionally, what would lead you to comment on more threads?

Is the format of featured authors and guest blogs getting stale? 

If you have suggestions, don't be shy! I've already started the American Mystery Classics thanks to one of your suggestions. 

What can we do to liven up this place? And before you say "parties" - remember that this board only exists because B&N created it as a way to showcase and promote books, and to encourage discussions about books.

We've tried the traditional book club format here time and time again without success. The forum is working better, but it's uncomfortable for authors when I'm the main person chatting with them. The more lively the forum is, the more authors want to join us. 

So give me your ideas - how can we make this happen?

[dulcinea3]

I think this is a very successful, active forum!  It's a lot of fun to come here and discuss mysteries with a great, enthusiastic group of readers.  And I think everyone seems to love getting books, still.

Probably one thing that is difficult is that there is a wide range of tastes in mysteries, which is evident from the thread on what we're reading.  It's rare for a bunch of people to be reading the same books at the same time.  That's why I almost hesitate to suggest this, but maybe you could ask people what authors they would be most interested in chatting with, because there might only be a couple of people interested in each author.  And, of course, I know that you can't get every author we might suggest.

For example, I would be excited to chat with any of the following: Carolyn Hart (I know she has done a few blogs, but she has usually not actually been around to chat), Martha Grimes, Elizabeth Peters, Susan Wittig Albert, Carrie Bebris, Nicola Upson, Stephanie Barron, and M.C. Beaton.  But how many people would be interested in any one of those, I don't know.

On the other hand, I think it's great that you do get so many authors to come here, and some of them stick around and become regular members, too.

I think the American Classics feature is great, too!  I also have really enjoyed the Agatha Christie birthday celebrations - maybe we could do that for other classic authors, too.

Oh, I also wanted to mention that the combination of Got Books and author visits works well, because there have been a couple of times that you have scheduled an author that you have sent me, and I have then read that book so that I could chat with the author.  As I've mantioned before, I don't usually feel that comfortable talking to an author I haven't read.  Sorry, but that's just my personality, but I know that others here do enjoy talking to unfamiliar authors and finding out about new books to read.

[eadieburke]

Becke:

I think maybe each one of us need to come up with some generic questions that we can ask the authors. If we had some kind of a list, then we could see which questions were asked. We could make a conscious effort to engage the authors in some type of dialogue. Some of us may be just relying on you to ask the questions and do your discussion thing. We as readers are glancing through the dialogue and figure there is no need to participate and that gets to be a bad habit. Since you have sent out a request, those of us who really appreciation what you have done to our TBR pile, should now come forward help you out in making the authors as comfortable as possible.

I know that I like to take the list of authors and read at least one of their books in order to engage the author. This works for me, as it gives me something to say and introduces me to authors that I have not read before. I really think it is an awesome experience to read a book and then learn about the author and what made them write the book. I know it may not be possible for each of us to read one of their books. I like what Patti does, she has her set questions that she asks each author.

You sent out the request, Becke! Now let's see who is up for the challenge! 

[becke_davis]

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I think this is a very successful, active forum!  It's a lot of fun to come here and discuss mysteries with a great, enthusiastic group of readers.  And I think everyone seems to love getting books, still.

Well, it's handy for me, too, since I receive a LOT of books from publishers. I read as many as I can, but it's nice to be able to share them with you all rather than have them collect dust in my house.

Probably one thing that is difficult is that there is a wide range of tastes in mysteries, which is evident from the thread on what we're reading.  It's rare for a bunch of people to be reading the same books at the same time.  That's why I almost hesitate to suggest this, but maybe you could ask people what authors they would be most interested in chatting with, because there might only be a couple of people interested in each author.  And, of course, I know that you can't get every author we might suggest.

I LOVE to hear what authors you'd like to visit with! Erin Hart, Dana Cameron, Sofie Kelly and others were featured here because one or more of you requested them. I can't always get them, but I'll do my best!

For example, I would be excited to chat with any of the following: Carolyn Hart (I know she has done a few blogs, but she has usually not actually been around to chat), Martha Grimes, Elizabeth Peters, Susan Wittig Albert, Carrie Bebris, Nicola Upson, Stephanie Barron, and M.C. Beaton.  But how many people would be interested in any one of those, I don't know.

With Carolyn, it's not that she doesn't want to chat, it's that she's had problems with the site. (Gnomes and gremlins...) She's extremely nice and if any of you have questions I'll be happy to pass them on to her, but I don't think she's comfortable with the sign-in and posting process. 

None of the others have visited - I will look into them. Thanks for the suggestions!

On the other hand, I think it's great that you do get so many authors to come here, and some of them stick around and become regular members, too.

I think the American Classics feature is great, too!  I also have really enjoyed the Agatha Christie birthday celebrations - maybe we could do that for other classic authors, too.

What a fun idea! Any authors whose birthdays you'd like to celebrate?

Oh, I also wanted to mention that the combination of Got Books and author visits works well, because there have been a couple of times that you have scheduled an author that you have sent me, and I have then read that book so that I could chat with the author.  As I've mantioned before, I don't usually feel that comfortable talking to an author I haven't read.  Sorry, but that's just my personality, but I know that others here do enjoy talking to unfamiliar authors and finding out about new books to read.

Don't apologize - I'm sure you're not the only one to feel that way. I think a lot of people treat this forum like the opposite of a book club - they meet the author, learn about them and their books, and then decide if they'd like to read the books. I get good feedback from authors (that their B&N rankings have spiked after a visit). Oddly, that seems to happen even when it's quiet on the boards so there must be a weird hidden algorithm involved.

Thanks for your suggestions!

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[becke_davis]

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eadieburke wrote:

Becke:

I think maybe each one of us need to come up with some generic questions that we can ask the authors. If we had some kind of a list, then we could see which questions were asked. We could make a conscious effort to engage the authors in some type of dialogue. Some of us may be just relying on you to ask the questions and do your discussion thing.

I generally ask questions so the authors have something to respond to - I imagine some of them feel uncomfortable just jumping in and chatting away when it doesn't seem like anyone is paying attention. There are always more viewers than commenters, but I don't know how clear that is to our participants.

We as readers are glancing through the dialogue and figure there is no need to participate and that gets to be a bad habit. Since you have sent out a request, those of us who really appreciation what you have done to our TBR pile, should now come forward help you out in making the authors as comfortable as possible.

I feel like I'm hogging the conversation, but at the same time I don't want authors to feel I've deserted them. It's a tough call whether to wait and see if someone else is going to jump in, or whether to come up with new questions to keep the conversation going.

I know that I like to take the list of authors and read at least one of their books in order to engage the author. This works for me, as it gives me something to say and introduces me to authors that I have not read before. I really think it is an awesome experience to read a book and then learn about the author and what made them write the book. I know it may not be possible for each of us to read one of their books. I like what Patti does, she has her set questions that she asks each author.

Yes, I think Patti has a good idea there. I do appreciate that you all haven't read the books (or not all of them), and I wouldn't expect you to. I have a hard enough time keeping up with my TBR pile myself! Also, I realize it's expensive, since we have a lot of authors visiting here AND, as Dulcinea pointed out, everyone has different tastes in books.

You sent out the request, Becke! Now let's see who is up for the challenge! 

Thanks - I appreciate your input!

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[dulcinea3]

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becke_davis wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I think the American Classics feature is great, too!  I also have really enjoyed the Agatha Christie birthday celebrations - maybe we could do that for other classic authors, too.

What a fun idea! Any authors whose birthdays you'd like to celebrate?

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A few that come to my mind are Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  I don't know what their birhdays are, though!

[eadieburke]

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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becke_davis wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I think the American Classics feature is great, too!  I also have really enjoyed the Agatha Christie birthday celebrations - maybe we could do that for other classic authors, too.

What a fun idea! Any authors whose birthdays you'd like to celebrate?

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A few that come to my mind are Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  I don't know what their birhdays are, though!

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Wikipedia can tell you when their birthdays are. Dorothy Gilman would be good too since she just passed away!

[becke_davis]

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eadieburke wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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becke_davis wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I think the American Classics feature is great, too!  I also have really enjoyed the Agatha Christie birthday celebrations - maybe we could do that for other classic authors, too.

What a fun idea! Any authors whose birthdays you'd like to celebrate?

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A few that come to my mind are Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  I don't know what their birhdays are, though!

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Wikipedia can tell you when their birthdays are. Dorothy Gilman would be good too since she just passed away!

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Maybe we could do TWO Mystery Classics this month - add Dorothy Gilman, since she just died.

[eadieburke]

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becke_davis wrote:

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eadieburke wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

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becke_davis wrote:

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dulcinea3 wrote:

I think the American Classics feature is great, too!  I also have really enjoyed the Agatha Christie birthday celebrations - maybe we could do that for other classic authors, too.

What a fun idea! Any authors whose birthdays you'd like to celebrate?

---

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A few that come to my mind are Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Arthur Conan Doyle.  I don't know what their birhdays are, though!

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Wikipedia can tell you when their birthdays are. Dorothy Gilman would be good too since she just passed away!

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Maybe we could do TWO Mystery Classics this month - add Dorothy Gilman, since she just died.

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Sounds good!

[optic_i]

Hi Becke,

Perhaps some more historical mysteries. I know many books that come under historical fiction do read like mystery. A murder plot who done it. I really enjoy them, many have a global element also. Like taking place in Rome , Athens, Spain ,France, Scotland, Ireland, and of course England.

Also perhaps a Euro Tour of books each month , Scandinavian mysteries are popular now with many. Irish Mysteries another month . Then maybe have month with Australian and New Zealand mysteries.

Or a cruise ship Mystery tour to the places everyone's favorite mystery author can be found ?

Optic

[becke_davis]

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optic_i wrote:

Hi Becke,

Perhaps some more historical mysteries. I know many books that come under historical fiction do read like mystery. A murder plot who done it. I really enjoy them, many have a global element also. Like taking place in Rome , Athens, Spain ,France, Scotland, Ireland, and of course England.

Also perhaps a Euro Tour of books each month , Scandinavian mysteries are popular now with many. Irish Mysteries another month . Then maybe have month with Australian and New Zealand mysteries.

Or a cruise ship Mystery tour to the places everyone's favorite mystery author can be found ?

Optic

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Or a mystery set on a cruise? I can think of two off the bat:

A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple Series) 

Set Sail for Murder (Henrie O Series #7)   

I like the idea of a travel feature. We haven't done that in awhile:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Mystery/Please-Welcome-LEIGHTON-GAGE-amp-HIS-INTERNATIONAL-CR...

[becke_davis]

Here's another link to our last big travel feature:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Mystery/May-at-the-Mystery-Book-Club-International-Crime/m-p/...

I'll see what I can put together for another one.

[maxcat]

Becke, I do have one peeve and that is the same authors keep coming back with new books being released. But it tends to get tiring at times. And sometimes when I make a comment, the author does not respond in kind. And with that, I'm disheartened by it and won't buy their books. The guest blogs have been great and I enjoy those immensely. But I write a comment to every author that comes on the forum and I don't feel I have to grill them about how they came up with ideas for their books. You do so much research that there isn't any questions to ask the author that you already haven't covered. I enjoy Got Books? and I would hate to see it go.

[maxcat]

I agree with dulcinea3. She seems to have a good idea there about different tastes in mysteries. The authors she mentioned are ones I read and would like to see them come on the forum. Not all of us read cozies. Some like thrills with political fare, others like romantic mysteries. I just like a nice cozy writer to talk to and read their books. I'm not going to buy books from authors I don't know very well although I do keep an open mind.

[maxcat]

The different country a month sounds good. So does the cruise mystery theme.

[becke_davis]

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maxcat wrote:

Becke, I do have one peeve and that is the same authors keep coming back with new books being released. But it tends to get tiring at times. And sometimes when I make a comment, the author does not respond in kind. And with that, I'm disheartened by it and won't buy their books. The guest blogs have been great and I enjoy those immensely. But I write a comment to every author that comes on the forum and I don't feel I have to grill them about how they came up with ideas for their books. You do so much research that there isn't any questions to ask the author that you already haven't covered. I enjoy Got Books? and I would hate to see it go.

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That's a good point. Often, the publishers set up the repeat visits. If the initial visit was popular, I usually agree to it. Sometimes I will suggest they write a guest blog instead. (With the guest blogs, the author visits are optional, so you won't always get a response to your comments on those threads.)

I encourage the featured authors to respond to comments, but I've noticed a lot of them come back less and less when they only see questions from me. I think they might feel there is no interest, so they don't check the comments as carefully as those who are here every day. I agree, it's more fun for everyone when there is a back-and-forth conversation.

I can't cut out the repeat visits altogether, but I'll keep pushing for more authors to visit.

One thing you've probably noticed is that authors who visit us are like actors who visit talk shows - they have something to promote. Most visits are scheduled close to the release dates of their new books.

BUT some classic authors - who are still around - aren't writing at all anymore, or aren't writing as much. I'm happy to reach out to those authors and invite them to join us. Any time there's an author you'd like to meet, let me know. Post lists here if you want, so we can get an idea which author visits would excite you.

Sometimes authors approach me and ask to visit, sometimes their publishers reach out, and other times I will approach them. Usually that gives us a decent mix, but I'm happy to target authors you all select, too.

[becke_davis]

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maxcat wrote:

I agree with dulcinea3. She seems to have a good idea there about different tastes in mysteries. The authors she mentioned are ones I read and would like to see them come on the forum. Not all of us read cozies. Some like thrills with political fare, others like romantic mysteries. I just like a nice cozy writer to talk to and read their books. I'm not going to buy books from authors I don't know very well although I do keep an open mind.

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This raises a good point. I've been inviting a lot of cozy authors because in the past they seemed to get the best response here. But I also like thrillers and romantic suspense, and I like to keep a balance. Some thriller authors are such big names they are unlikely to have time for a visit, but they might do a guest blog if I ask. It's worth a shot, anyway.

[becke_davis]

To all of you Carolyn Hart fans, she just posted a blog here:

http://www.carolynhart.com/onwriting.html

[becke_davis]

[mary_kennedy]

Sorry to be late to the party! Somehow I missed this thread. Re: cruise mysteries, Becke, I love the two books you mentioned, Set Sail for Murder by Carolyn Hart and A Caribbean Cruise by Agatha Christie. I met Don Bain at Bouchercon and I told him how much I enjoyed the Murder She Wrote series. I said my favorite one was set on the QE 2 and he said he had gotten the most reader mail on that particular book. I read that he has a new (or recent) cruise ship mystery out, but I'm blanking on the name.