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Post by susanb on May 21, 2014 11:27:04 GMT 1
Ok, Ok, I know I'm early....but I'm already starting to see summer reading lists pop up, and it put it in my mind! Hoping we're going to be doing a 2014 challenge...the last two were fun!
Quick question, as I eye my tbr pile and the books in my amazon wishlist: are we going with the same categories as last year? I ask, because it's getting a little tough to find fantasy pony books that I actually want to read.
Just tossing it out....maybe swap in a different catagory....book with a boy protagonist? Or a book by an author that you haven't yet read? Or _______? fill in the blank with other sugggestions )
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Post by Claire on May 22, 2014 13:06:40 GMT 1
Crikey can't believe we're coming up to Summer already! Yes I will try and organise the reading challenge again this year. We don't have to have the same categories as before. I like the suggestion of a book by an author you haven't tried before. If anyone has any other suggestions for categories please fire away. Maybe everyone who wants to take part could suggest a category?
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Post by susanb on May 22, 2014 13:45:36 GMT 1
LOL...I know, it seems like jumping the gun. Unofficial summer starts in the US on Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, which is only four days away now, so all the summer stuff is out already. (And, of course, we have a generally warmer climate, so summer starts earlier and ends later here, whatever the calendar says!)
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Post by garej on May 24, 2014 23:18:53 GMT 1
I think a non pony book by a pony book author would be a good one. The PTs, Joanna Cannan and K M Peyton wrote a fair few non pony books to name a few, and some are easy to come across. I am sure that there are more non pony books by pony book authors.
It would also give me a good excuse to read Father Unknown again.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2014 8:51:54 GMT 1
A re-read category would be good as that's what I seem to be doing now. I don't have a TBR pile sadly.
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Post by susanb on May 29, 2014 20:21:09 GMT 1
both categories sound fun....I actually just got a non-pony book by Mary Elwyn Patchett.
One I can recommend that's not too expensive/fairly easy to find is Knightsgate Players by Gillian Baxter....particularly if you like theatre/performing art books.
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Post by garej on May 30, 2014 20:58:12 GMT 1
The Jessie books (CPT) are easy to find and are especially good if you like dogs.
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Post by Claire on May 31, 2014 23:18:22 GMT 1
Some great ideas for categories. I especially like the non-pony book by a pony author. I'd like to read Pat Leitch's Treaure to the East but really cant afford to buy any more books at the mo, so if anyone has a copy they could lend to me it would be fantastic.
Keep your ideas for new categories coming in.
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Post by brumby on Jun 1, 2014 7:32:38 GMT 1
At the risk of me starting to collect dog books , I would love to include a dog book.
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Post by Charlotte on Jun 1, 2014 19:56:55 GMT 1
Perhaps pony books by non-pony author, such A Horse Called September by Anne Digby.
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Post by Claire on Jun 2, 2014 13:01:21 GMT 1
I've never really thought of Anne Digby as a non-pony author even tho she's only written 2 pony books and a lot more school stories. Its probably because I had read the horse ones a few times before I realized she had written everything else.
Funny the trend for suggestions seem to be moving away from pony book territory, what with dog stories, school stories, non-pony books by pony authors, etc. If people want to go this way its fine but I think we we're a pony book forum we should try and keep the majority as pony related.
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Post by susanb on Jun 2, 2014 15:38:36 GMT 1
Fair enough re pony books, Claire....besides, we chose 5 pony book categories last year (see below), and had 5 "whatever you want" books to make up the 10
A 'NEW' PONY STORY (PUBLISHED IN 2012/2013) AN OLD CLASSIC A FANTASY PONY STORY AN ADULT HORSE STORY A PONY STORY PUBLISHED IN A COUNTRY OTHER THAN YOUR OWN PLUS 5 OTHERS OF YOUR CHOICE, HORSY OR NON-HORSY
If we settle on 5 official pony categories, then maybe people can slot in whatever else they want to read (non pony book by pony author, school story, dog story, etc) into five free electives? It will be interesting, as always, to see what people decide on for the elective spots!
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Post by Claire on Jun 2, 2014 18:21:44 GMT 1
O
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Post by Claire on Jun 2, 2014 18:29:38 GMT 1
Oh I dont mind having non pony books at all but was hoping for a few suggestions for pony categories too lol.
Thanks for copying out last year's list susan, saves me having to do it! Looking at that I think we will keep the 'new' pony book and old classic category (that could be a re-read) but maybe change the fantasy, adult and other country categories to new ones. I also thought an animal story about an animal other than a horse would be a good category as it would cover the dog book suggestion and others. So far then I have:
AN OLD CLASSIC PONY STORY A NEW PONY STORY (2013/2014) A PONY STORY BY AN AUTHOR YOU HAVEN'T READ BEFORE AN ANIMAL (NON EQUINE)STORY A NON PONY BOOK BY A PONY AUTHOR
Maybe add a couple more pony book categories (suggestions please) and then the rest can be free choice.
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Post by susanb on Jun 2, 2014 23:06:17 GMT 1
How about a "Siren Call" pony book? The unexpected midsummer acquisition, or the book that suddenly surfaces in your tbr pile calling your name? i.e., we'd name 9 books, but one pony book could be a last second decision?
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Post by brumby on Jun 3, 2014 1:01:55 GMT 1
Like this idea Susan Claire can we still include PONY BOOK PUBLISHED IN A COUNTRY OTHER THAN YOUR OWN, I think thats a good one. What about a PONY BOOK PUBLISHED IN THE YEAR YOU WERE BORN Why not a PONY BOOK WHERE THE COVER REALLY TURNS YOU OFF probably a bit silly but my warped little brain is trying to come up with ideas (I'm actually supposed to be Working!) PONY BOOK THAT FEATURES A WILD HORSE/STALLION
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Post by susanb on Jun 3, 2014 15:12:43 GMT 1
errrm.....I think there is the possibility of tying down too many categories too specifically....people are going to start to struggle to fill them all without having to buy a lot of books! I can say this without prejudice, because, having cast an eye over my collection, I think I could fill just about any category that could be named (I found that I have 23 books, plus one on order, from the year I was born...grin, clearly a very good year), but I wouldn't want to bankrupt my fellow forumites
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Post by Claire on Jun 3, 2014 17:05:34 GMT 1
Well of course as before nobody HAS to choose a book in every category if they can't find one but I think 5 or 6 categories plus 4 - 5 free choice ones would be about the right mix. Tho I must say brumby's suggestions are fun.
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Post by susanb on Jun 3, 2014 17:55:25 GMT 1
That ratio sounds good to me too, Claire....when I looked at our lists from last year, which was a five pony/five whatever you want split, several people didn't do any non-pony at all and, of those who did, most did only one or two (only exception was Kunuma, who went wild and crazy with fantasy...and got burnt by coming up neutral or frowny face for 3 of the 5 ) summerreadingchallenge.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/Many of the suggested categories sound fun to me too (hey, I immediately went to my database to check out my birth year books!), but I was just thinking about people who are missing books in several categories might not want to spend the money, or have the inclination, to fill the gaps, and might just pass on the challenge, which would be a pity.....it would be great if all the regulars joined and maybe even some casual visitors or (dare we say it) lurkers would hop on board...the more the merrier! btw, to that end, one category that was suggested was re-read....I'd advocate NOT making it a category, but leaving it up to individuals....if you haven't got a tbr pile, go with whatever you've got that fits the categories chosen, if you DO have a staggering tbr pile, use the challenge as an incentive to whittle it down and avoid re-reads if possible.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2014 18:00:06 GMT 1
Think I'll give it a miss this year, so don't worry about my suggestion
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Post by Claire on Jun 3, 2014 18:58:58 GMT 1
Think I'll give it a miss this year, so don't worry about my suggestion Aww thats a shame rosie - don't you have the time? Well I was just using the old fav/classic category as an umbrella to cover potential re-reads and wasn't going to hacve it as a specific category. Going back to susan's comments about kunuma (aka cloud now) I sem to remember she was doing a fantasy lit course and using her books on that as part of the reading challenge.
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Post by susanb on Jun 3, 2014 19:41:50 GMT 1
ahh....that does explain getting stuck with all the duds....it's a rare reading course where you enjoy all the books, though sometimes they do turn up one that you absolutely love that you wouldn't have picked up on your own. I did a course on women writers once, and the stand out for me was Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings...I couldn't wait for the end of the term, so I could get on with reading the rest of her autobiographies. It wasn't till this past week, when her obituary was in the news, that I realized that she'd written another, years after my summer of binge reading, that I'd missed (now in my tbr pile, of course ).
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2014 20:14:49 GMT 1
Think I'll give it a miss this year, so don't worry about my suggestion Aww thats a shame rosie - don't you have the time? Got it in one! I might have time possibly later on. I'll see what categories you decide and If I've got any suitable books
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Post by Claire on Jun 3, 2014 22:43:34 GMT 1
Well Rosie (or anyone else who is strapped for time or a slow reader) you dont have to pick 10. Its not a school project lol, pick as many or as few books as you like. After all its each person's own personal challenge. If you think you will only be able to manage 3 or 4 folks then feel free to only choose that number. I dont think I finished the full 10 in both previous years myself!
Yeah susan I know what you mean about being pleasantly surprised by some lit courses/modules. When I was doing my Eng Lit degree I had to pick a module out of about 3 unappetising looking subjects. I chose Literature of war thinking it was going to be dull and/or bloodthirsty. But I really loved the First World War poets, plus it taught me a lot about the period. Anyway I suppose it ties in with including categories in the reading challenge rather than just having people pick up to 10 books they want to read, as in this way people may find something new which they had never considered reading before.
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Post by susanb on Jun 4, 2014 1:52:55 GMT 1
Very true....we do all so often go with the familiar...probably the reason why all my nail polish is almost the same shade I didn't finish the first year....got stuck on Island of Ponies (Dillon) and never even made it to the 3 Jays book I was going to read in honor of the Olympics....never have managed either to this date (and NO, they are sooo not going on this years list! I think the only reason they still occupy real estate in my bookcase is for the pretty covers ) I, by chance, did a good bit of reading of WW1 poetry in my late teens/early 20s....I came across couple of textbooks of my Dad's when I was clearing out an old trunk, Prose and Poetry of America and Prose and Poetry of England. More poetry than prose, in both cases, and very heavy into WW1 era. So much that was so hauntingly beautiful, especially when you realize that so many of the poets didn't survive the war....such a waste.
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Post by brumby on Jun 4, 2014 7:10:40 GMT 1
Susan wrote Susan, not only do you have a fantastic book collection but they are catalogued in a database! You are amazing, as an ex librarian the best I can do is alphabetical order by author. After making the suggestion of the book written in your birth year I have been manually going through my shelves checking dates Any ideas for books written in 1956?
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Post by susanb on Jun 4, 2014 11:25:11 GMT 1
Don't be too impressed, my database is soooo out of date...I've added books far faster than I've cataloged! Maybe I'll make catching up a summer project. And, shockingly, I have only one book from 1956, Arizona Cutting Horse by John Richard Young. Great book, but unfortunately very hard to find, even in it's native US Tintin did the first of the quartet, Arabian Cow Horse, for last year's challenge and liked it.
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Post by Claire on Jun 4, 2014 13:04:41 GMT 1
For anyone interested in finding a book written in the year of their birth but who don't have a database lol try visiting the page link below. Find the google search box and check the ponymadbooklovers name then enter in your date of birth. You may be able to find a suitable book from the search results. Mind you I am not sure I will add that category yet, perhaps some people may not want to reveal their age lol www.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/page2.html
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Post by susanb on Jun 4, 2014 16:25:45 GMT 1
Eeek! I hadn't thought of the fact we'd all be posting our age! Fuggedaboutit I does seem pretty hard on the younger set too, in a different way....someone might get stuck with the Saddle Club and it's ilk...now THAT'S scary!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2014 20:30:46 GMT 1
Typical! The only books in my birth year I haven't got! Claire if I can do just a few books I'll join in
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