New Leaf Themes Redux

issybird · 04-10-2019, 08:08 AM

It's time to hash out our next slate of themes. Please check all weapons at the door.

The method will be essentially the same as the last round. Everyone is free to propose themes, tweak them and join in the general discussions. However, we're limiting final selection to regular participants, mostly in the interest of keeping the time horizon reasonable, but also to help ensure that people will be around once their theme goes live. Those eligible will have received a PM from me; the bar isn't high and it wouldn't take much to be eligible for the next round.

Each regular can name one theme which will make it to the slate.

The fine print: The only restriction is no genre nominations; themes only. Everyone knows the drill; we have a tag line and then a theme. But if you can only come up with a theme or aren't happy with your tag, our helpful club will be glad to supply ideas (no doubt they'll provide commentary in any case).

Everyone should feel free to comment, suggest, make observations about the various nominations. Tweaking can take place and the discussion can fine tune proposals. If you change your mind and come up with a better idea, that's great. Go ahead and post your new nomination and it will be substituted for the old one. There will be a master list of nominations in the post following this which can be altered until everyone's satisfied.

For anyone who wants to refer to the old theme thread for ideas or as a memory jogger, it's here; the thread before that is here.

I think that's it. If anything's been missed or you have questions or suggestions, I'll amend this.

So, what themes will we have?

issybird · 04-10-2019, 08:08 AM

Official themes:

The End of the Road: Finales [Bookpossum]

I'd Rather be Reading: Books about Books [Bookworm_Girl]

As You Wish: Anything Goes [Catlady]

Labour of Love: Working Class [CRussel]

First Things First: Debuts [Dazrin]

Books like Onions: Layers [gmw]

Ya Gotta Believe: Life of the Spirit [issybird]

It Takes Two to Tango: Collaborators [Victoria]

Tentative Schedule:

August: First Things First: Debuts

September: Labour of Love: Working Class

October: Ya Gotta Believe: Life of the Spirit

November: Books like Onions: Layers

December: The End of the Road: Finales

January: I'd Rather be Reading: Books about Books

February: It Takes Two to Tango: Collaborators

March: As You Wish: Anything Goes

Dazrin · 04-10-2019, 03:24 PM

Here's my take on what themes should be:

Open enough to allow most any genre to be nominated
Constrained enough to make us think about our nominations
Defined enough that we get a complementary set of nominations

Obviously, the amount of definition/constraints will vary from month to month but that's how I try to think of them.

Here are a couple that I've been thinking about.

First, one I mentioned last year. We generally need a good, light-hearted (or at least light-weight) option near the Holidays. So I was thinking of "Tasty Morsels, short and/or sweet". That should cover short stories, food related books, "feel good" (sweet) books, etc. And the title reminds me of the holidays in general.

Along similar lines was "A Box of Chocolates, custom collections". The idea was "short story collections." It could be a single author, an anthology with different authors around a theme, or potentially even a collection that the NOMINATOR puts together. (I've considered putting together a nomination of 3-5 short stories from online sources and public domain works in the past.) But, as Forrest says "You never know what you're gonna get."

A different one was "First Things First, debut books", with the intention of getting the first book by an author. Although, the first book in a series would certainly be appropriate as well.

Also, I still think we need to find a time to use "Crunchy and Goes well with Ketchup".

Greg Anos · 04-10-2019, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

It's time to hash out our next slate of themes. Please check all weapons at the door.

The method will be essentially the same as the last round. Everyone is free to propose themes, tweak them and join in the general discussions. However, we're limiting final selection to regular participants, mostly in the interest of keeping the time horizon reasonable, but also to help ensure that people will be around once their theme goes live. Those eligible will have received a PM from me; the bar isn't high and it wouldn't take much to be eligible for the next round.

Each regular can name one theme which will make it to the slate.

The fine print: The only restriction is no genre nominations; themes only. Everyone knows the drill; we have a tag line and then a theme. But if you can only come up with a theme or aren't happy with your tag, our helpful club will be glad to supply ideas (no doubt they'll provide commentary in any case).

Everyone should feel free to comment, suggest, make observations about the various nominations. Tweaking can take place and the discussion can fine tune proposals. If you change your mind and come up with a better idea, that's great. Go ahead and post your new nomination and it will be substituted for the old one. There will be a master list of nominations in the post following this which can be altered until everyone's satisfied.

For anyone who wants to refer to the old theme thread for ideas or as a memory jogger, it's here; the thread before that is here.

I think that's it. If anything's been missed or you have questions or suggestions, I'll amend this.

So, what themes will we have?

You can have the weapons, but I'm keeping my armor on. . . .

Greg Anos · 04-10-2019, 07:17 PM

How about The Air Conditioned Nightmare?

The theme would be Utopian/Disutopian fiction.

Bookpossum · 04-10-2019, 07:20 PM

See, I said that Dazrin was very good at this. Great ideas!

Bookworm_Girl · 04-10-2019, 08:43 PM

I love the Tasty Morsel idea! I think that something related to food would be really interesting and have a lot of variety in nomination options.

I also second Dazrin’s suggestion that the calendar should be considered when placing the theme panel.

gmw · 04-10-2019, 10:36 PM

(Thanks, Dazrin, for reminding me about this one...)

Better together: co-written

(I am open to refinements/improvements if you think this has problems.)

Catlady · 04-10-2019, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmw

(Thanks, Dazrin, for reminding me about this one...)

Better together: co-written

(I am open to refinements/improvements if you think this has problems.)

In the other thread, Victoria suggested It Takes Two/Partners--that could include both co-written books and books that feature duos.

Bookpossum · 04-11-2019, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

In the other thread, Victoria suggested It Takes Two/Partners--that could include both co-written books and books that feature duos.

Yes, I think those two seem very similar, and also I wonder if the co-written part of the suggested theme is not being too prescriptive?

CRussel · 04-11-2019, 01:52 AM

I rather like "Tasty Morsels, short and/or sweet". Could cover everything from Kitchen Confidential to The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, to The Omnivore's Dilemma. (All of which I've read and highly recommend, btw.) And that's only dealing with the first part of the theme!

Honestly, I haven't come up with anything new, yet. Need to think some more. One thought I've had is a theme around work, and especially around the good old fashioned blue-collar jobs.

gmw · 04-11-2019, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

In the other thread, Victoria suggested It Takes Two/Partners--that could include both co-written books and books that feature duos.

Yes, I saw that. I think of them as distinct themes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Yes, I think those two seem very similar, and also I wonder if the co-written part of the suggested theme is not being too prescriptive?

You may be right, perhaps it is too prescriptive ... but consider that it doesn't limit anything else. It can be fiction or non-fiction, it can be anything at all with 2+ authors. That seems pretty wide to me.

If we merge to say two-plus authors or two-plus main-protagonists we are certainly opening it more widely ... I felt it was too wide, but happy to go with the flow.

Bookpossum · 04-11-2019, 08:34 AM

I suppose it could include translations into English from another language also, so one author, translated by another person. A good translator can really add something to the enjoyment of the work, which would be clunky if it was a literal translation. Would that fit, do you think gmw?

I'm just looking for some wriggle room here, so that we aren't tied to books written by two co-authors.

Bookpossum · 04-11-2019, 08:45 AM

Can we be flexible about the phrasing of the theme? That is, do they necessarily have to have two parts to them (like a cryptic crossword puzzle clue)?

As an example, I was thinking of what to me is a great book title, The View in Winter - a non-fiction book by Ronald Blythe, of elderly people talking about their lives. So a phrase like that could refer to old age, or of course to a story with a winter setting. I don't think a phrase like that needs anything added to it.

Greg Anos · 04-11-2019, 09:23 AM

The two (or more) authors concept is very broad.

Consider.

At one end you could have Will and Ariel Durant's history of civilization.

At the other end, you could have one of the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle collaborations.

04-10-2019, 08:08 AM	#1
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,656 Karma: 225870683 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Themes Redux It's time to hash out our next slate of themes. Please check all weapons at the door. The method will be essentially the same as the last round. Everyone is free to propose themes, tweak them and join in the general discussions. However, we're limiting final selection to regular participants, mostly in the interest of keeping the time horizon reasonable, but also to help ensure that people will be around once their theme goes live. Those eligible will have received a PM from me; the bar isn't high and it wouldn't take much to be eligible for the next round. Each regular can name one theme which will make it to the slate. The fine print: The only restriction is no genre nominations; themes only. Everyone knows the drill; we have a tag line and then a theme. But if you can only come up with a theme or aren't happy with your tag, our helpful club will be glad to supply ideas (no doubt they'll provide commentary in any case). Everyone should feel free to comment, suggest, make observations about the various nominations. Tweaking can take place and the discussion can fine tune proposals. If you change your mind and come up with a better idea, that's great. Go ahead and post your new nomination and it will be substituted for the old one. There will be a master list of nominations in the post following this which can be altered until everyone's satisfied. For anyone who wants to refer to the old theme thread for ideas or as a memory jogger, it's here; the thread before that is here. I think that's it. If anything's been missed or you have questions or suggestions, I'll amend this. So, what themes will we have?

04-10-2019, 08:08 AM	#2
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,656 Karma: 225870683 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Official themes: The End of the Road: Finales [Bookpossum] I'd Rather be Reading: Books about Books [Bookworm_Girl] As You Wish: Anything Goes [Catlady] Labour of Love: Working Class [CRussel] First Things First: Debuts [Dazrin] Books like Onions: Layers [gmw] Ya Gotta Believe: Life of the Spirit [issybird] It Takes Two to Tango: Collaborators [Victoria] Tentative Schedule: August: First Things First: Debuts September: Labour of Love: Working Class October: Ya Gotta Believe: Life of the Spirit November: Books like Onions: Layers December: The End of the Road: Finales January: I'd Rather be Reading: Books about Books February: It Takes Two to Tango: Collaborators March: As You Wish: Anything Goes Last edited by issybird; 05-22-2019 at 10:05 AM. Reason: Through post #143.

04-10-2019, 03:24 PM	#3
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,670 Karma: 74333633 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	Here's my take on what themes should be: Open enough to allow most any genre to be nominated Constrained enough to make us think about our nominations Defined enough that we get a complementary set of nominations Obviously, the amount of definition/constraints will vary from month to month but that's how I try to think of them. Here are a couple that I've been thinking about. First, one I mentioned last year. We generally need a good, light-hearted (or at least light-weight) option near the Holidays. So I was thinking of "Tasty Morsels, short and/or sweet". That should cover short stories, food related books, "feel good" (sweet) books, etc. And the title reminds me of the holidays in general. Along similar lines was "A Box of Chocolates, custom collections". The idea was "short story collections." It could be a single author, an anthology with different authors around a theme, or potentially even a collection that the NOMINATOR puts together. (I've considered putting together a nomination of 3-5 short stories from online sources and public domain works in the past.) But, as Forrest says "You never know what you're gonna get." A different one was "First Things First, debut books", with the intention of getting the first book by an author. Although, the first book in a series would certainly be appropriate as well. Also, I still think we need to find a time to use "Crunchy and Goes well with Ketchup".

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04-10-2019, 07:17 PM	#5
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,381 Karma: 35440406 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	How about The Air Conditioned Nightmare? The theme would be Utopian/Disutopian fiction.

04-10-2019, 07:20 PM	#6
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,138 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	See, I said that Dazrin was very good at this. Great ideas!

04-10-2019, 08:43 PM	#7
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,873 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	I love the Tasty Morsel idea! I think that something related to food would be really interesting and have a lot of variety in nomination options. I also second Dazrin’s suggestion that the calendar should be considered when placing the theme panel.

04-10-2019, 10:36 PM	#8
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,815 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	(Thanks, Dazrin, for reminding me about this one...) Better together: co-written (I am open to refinements/improvements if you think this has problems.)

04-11-2019, 01:52 AM	#11
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,229 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	I rather like "Tasty Morsels, short and/or sweet". Could cover everything from Kitchen Confidential to The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, to The Omnivore's Dilemma. (All of which I've read and highly recommend, btw.) And that's only dealing with the first part of the theme! Honestly, I haven't come up with anything new, yet. Need to think some more. One thought I've had is a theme around work, and especially around the good old fashioned blue-collar jobs.

04-11-2019, 08:34 AM	#13
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,138 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	I suppose it could include translations into English from another language also, so one author, translated by another person. A good translator can really add something to the enjoyment of the work, which would be clunky if it was a literal translation. Would that fit, do you think gmw? I'm just looking for some wriggle room here, so that we aren't tied to books written by two co-authors.

04-11-2019, 08:45 AM	#14
Bookpossum Snoozing in the sun Posts: 10,138 Karma: 115423645 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: iPad Mini, Kobo Touch	Can we be flexible about the phrasing of the theme? That is, do they necessarily have to have two parts to them (like a cryptic crossword puzzle clue)? As an example, I was thinking of what to me is a great book title, The View in Winter - a non-fiction book by Ronald Blythe, of elderly people talking about their lives. So a phrase like that could refer to old age, or of course to a story with a winter setting. I don't think a phrase like that needs anything added to it.

04-11-2019, 09:23 AM	#15
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,381 Karma: 35440406 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	The two (or more) authors concept is very broad. Consider. At one end you could have Will and Ariel Durant's history of civilization. At the other end, you could have one of the Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle collaborations.

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