Member: countrylife

Cozy mystery recommendations from Fifty States Fiction folks on thornton37814's thread:

thornton37814's recs:
Laura Childs' Tea Shop mysteries. They are set in Charleston, SC. Many have plots that revolve around the Heritage Society there. They feature amateur detectives. The first in the series is Death by Darjeeling.

Margaret Frazer writes historical cozies. She has two series set in the medieval period. The Brother Caedfel mysteries by Ellis Peters would also fit the historical cozy category. Rett Macpherson has a series that features Tori O'Shea, a genealogist. She just "delves" into the past.

cbl_tn's recs:
I enjoy the Robin Paige series with Sir Charles and Lady Kathryn Sheridan. These books are set in the late Victorian era, and most of the books involve real historical figures like Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling.

Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries are some of my favorites. Each book is set where Jane was known to be living or visiting during the time period of the book.

I also enjoy the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson. The books are set in New York City. Her featured characters are Sarah Brandt, a young widow who works as a midwife, and policeman Frank Malloy. In a typical book in the series, Sarah discovers a crime in the course of her work and calls on Malloy to help investigate. Teddy Roosevelt has a small role as the New York police comissioner.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/68718#...

posted by countrylife at 7:33 am (EST) on Nov 11, 2009

Thanks for your very kind words about the "reviews" I've posted. I don't know what happened to the second half of "Moonlight in Odessa", but I'm glad you pointed it out - I've corrected it, and it should be OK now.

I've been posting comments about all my books on the challenge threads since the first of the year. I've never done anything like that before, and I found that it really forced me to think about what I'd read and why I reacted to it the way I had. Then, in August I think, I started copying those same comments and posting them as reviews. I did that, not because I was so proud of them or thought I had something to say, but because I was finding other people's comments helpful, even when they were just casual remarks. It occured to me that my 2 cents' worth might be helpful to someone else, just as their's had been for me. I'm very pleased that I was able to convey some sense of the pleasure I gained from those books you named. And I see some familiar titles on your "most recent activity" list!

I would also be able to get more reading done if I didn't spend so much time every week looking at other people's books! It is just so much fun to discover all these titles that I would never know about otherwise.

Sandy

posted by sjmccreary at 4:27 pm (EST) on Nov 5, 2009

Thank-you for telling me about "Nebraskan's Who LibraryThing". =D

posted by Alldone at 6:26 am (EST) on Nov 2, 2009

Hi CountryLife,

So let me see if I can help you. First I noticed that there were a couple of parents at Amazon who commented that there teenage kids liked Ring of Fire.

The book is different from Eragon in that it's language is sparser. However, it excels in pacing. Ring of Fire boldly pushes the reader along in a sort of Dan Brown sort of way. I enjoyed it.

For a book in a more Eragon styling you might consider the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. I REALLY enjoyed that. It's creative and humorous and well plotted.

I hope this helps. Please write back with any questions. And please, let me know what response you get back from your young reader. I'm always interested in what others think about books.

Pam :)

posted by PamFamilyLibrary at 11:24 am (EST) on Nov 1, 2009

Hi,
Thank you so much for telling me about other groups on "stuff you find inside old books." I tried searching first before creating a new group, but halfway down the complete list I got lazy.
I'll probably close my group and join one of the existing ones. Are you a member of any of them? Any suggestions? They both seem to be a little inactive these days. I wanna join a group you belong to; you seem like a good neighbor to have :)
Best,
Eduardo (a.k.a. Wado)

posted by wado at 6:20 pm (EST) on Oct 28, 2009

Hi countrylife!

Thanks for your sweet note! You're right, we DO have a similar taste in books! I'll be happily "shopping" your shelves and "stealing" your books now! I'm always excited to find more books to add to my "to be read" list. I'm also on shelfari - do you know that website? It's great for readers and lots of fun. You can find my shelf at www.shelfari/pbarber42

If that doesn't work, the main link is www.shelfari.com

See ya 'round!
:) p

posted by pbarber42 at 9:48 am (EST) on Oct 21, 2009

Thanks for the kind words. I try not to take everything seriously, which I suppose accounts for the funny things I say at times.

I would apply for an author badge if somebody would actually have one of my stories/books in their library. That is not, though, by any means, my requesting somebody do it, as I'd like it to happen because somebody felt my work was good enough to include in their library. When that happens, yeah, I'll start the whole LT author process. But until then, I refuse to force the issue.

posted by aethercowboy at 10:20 am (EST) on Oct 13, 2009

Hi,

Thanks for the comment. I belong to several of the groups you listed through a link from my personal library. In real life I'm e-zreader. I'm the new chair of the Library Committee at the GLCC in Pittsburgh. I created the GLBT Library group for folks like me who want to share info specifically related to building, maintaining and promoting our collections and services.

Feel free to join us and share your thoughts.

posted by GLCC at 9:56 am (EST) on Sep 29, 2009

hey thanks for the advice about the groups. Yeah I've noticed that it's hard to find the right conversations here and to make friends.

posted by honeydew69862004 at 1:43 am (EST) on Sep 26, 2009

thanks alot for your adivce... You're the first to do that!! :) So I was wondering...

1. How to make friends

2. How long it usualy takes for people to talk on a group(mambers)

please write back your alot of help!

- horselover7890

posted by horselover7890 at 9:33 am (EST) on Sep 25, 2009

Hi, no I don't have Native American ancestery. In the 1850s land grants were offered in Western Arkansas and my ancesters became part of that Westward migration. My dad had a strong interest in Native Americans, particularly those who traveled The Trial of Tears, and we always had books around the house on the subject. I've continued to be interested in Native American history as an adult but as you know, there just isn't enough time to read all I'd like to!

posted by clue at 10:28 pm (EST) on Aug 25, 2009

Note to jseger9000:

Hi, jseger! Thanks for your note. I have a beautiful picture of one of my sons sitting (what looks to me to be) too close to the edge. And as he goes back to the Grand Canyon whenever he gets the chance, I'm afraid to ever look at that book. Right now, he is in Alaska, backpacking at Denali, swimming in the Arctic Ocean, and who knows what other mother-worrying activities. I just always breathe a sigh of relief when he's back at school!

Hope you're having a great vacation!

countrylife

(For continuity) you said:

Hey, I'm on vacation and went to Sedona today. I saw a book very similar to the one you reviewed. It was called 'Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon'.

Not sure if you are really all that interested in a second book dealing with death at a national park, but it reminded me of your review.
posted by countrylife at 3:48 pm (EST) on Aug 11, 2009 |

posted by countrylife at 3:49 pm (EST) on Aug 11, 2009

Hi there! Wasn't sure if I ever responded to your email back (can't believe it's been almost a year!). Just wanted to update you on the Shoemaker diary. I contacted a couple of libraries and museums that had a few of Rachel and Jacob's writings and information on Jacob's short time with the Freedmen's Bureau, in order to donate the diary. The historical society's library in Philadelphia (where they opened their school) has asked to be able to review it so it is being sent with a copy of the transcription. They were very excited about it, so hopefully the diary will live on in a good "home" for others to experience. I had only handwritten the transcription, so I am now reliving it in "hard copy", realizing the errors, and adding a bit of history to the names, places, and events that he wrote about. I've also come across a diary that was written by one of his teacher friends, and am attempting a library loan of the book. I'm excited to see it as it covers the same time period and will be interesting to see how the experiences of the two men are described. Belated thanks (or perhaps repeated) for your response!

posted by cath61 at 11:53 am (EST) on Aug 9, 2009

Hey, I'm on vacation and went to Sedona today. I saw a book very similar to the one you reviewed. It was called 'Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon'.

Not sure if you are really all that interested in a second book dealing with death at a national park, but it reminded me of your review.

posted by jseger9000 at 2:14 am (EST) on Aug 6, 2009

How nice to hear from you.

Yes, LT is a marvelous place.

I will visit your library and I'm sure I'll find books to add to mine!

I'm a member of the 75 challenge group. Why not check our site. We are a wonderful, friendly and well-read bunch and my reading genre has expanded tremendously since joining the challenge group.

posted by Whisper1 at 11:16 am (EST) on Jul 28, 2009

Posted to Whisper1:

Whisper1, thank you for your comment on my profile. We visited Yellowstone in 2005. It was our first (and only) trip to Montana, during which we rented a house (via VRBO) on a babbling brook in the mountains near Paradise Valley. We had a wonderful time during our week in Montana, but spent only the one day at Yellowstone Park. You said it well with "majesty!...and danger". I found it awesome in an almost terrifying sense. I had a feeling of unease during our entire time at the park, which I attributed to the mothering instinct. I was glad to have that opportunity to see those wondrous sights that I'd read about since a child. But I DID breathe a sigh of relief when we drove back out the gates.

By the way, I just read the other reviews on the Death in Yellowstone reviews page, and found yours. I always like reviews that put the 'personal' into their book experience; I gave you a thumb's up. Oh, dear - did you know that you just stole an hour of my time?! I've been meandering through your reviews, finding a lot more books to add to my wishlist, and thumb-up-ing my favorite reviews along my way.

Isn't LT wonderful!

Regards,
countrylife

(for continuity) You said:

Hello
I read your review, which was listed on today's LT home page as a "hot review" regarding Death in Yellowstone : accidents and foolhardiness in the first national park by Lee H. Whittlesey. I recently returned from an eight day trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and purchased and read this book while there.

Did you enjoy your trip? It was the first time I was in that part of the country and there simply are no words to describe the majesty!...and danger.

Linda

posted by countrylife at 11:09 am (EST) on Jul 28, 2009

posted by countrylife at 11:11 am (EST) on Jul 28, 2009

It's good to "meet" you, too! My dad is the same age as yours. My mother was a reader, too, but I really think that my love for reading came from my dad's side of the family. I'm waiting to put a picture on my profile page until I can turn up the one I have in mind. Somewhere there is a picture of my dad sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine. I'm sitting on the table between him and the magazine when I was probably 6-9 months old. It looks like I'm reading the magazine right along with him! I've looked for it several times since I joined LibraryThing, but so far it's still hiding from me...

posted by cbl_tn at 2:12 pm (EST) on Jul 26, 2009

Thank you for your comment! The friend who encouraged me to join LibraryThing reviews everything she reads, so I decided to give it a try. I found that I enjoy it, which really surprised me since up to that point I had viewed writing as a chore rather than something I enjoyed doing. Once I started I just kept going. Maybe the same thing will happen to you!

I do have to admit that all of my reviews get a thumbs up from my father, who is also a LT member.

posted by cbl_tn at 7:20 pm (EST) on Jul 25, 2009

Hello
I read your review, which was listed on today's LT home page as a "hot review" regarding Death in Yellowstone : accidents and foolhardiness in the first national park by Lee H. Whittlesey. I recently returned from an eight day trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone and purchased and read this book while there.

Did you enjoy your trip? It was the first time I was in that part of the country and there simply are no words to describe the majesty!...and danger.

Linda

posted by Whisper1 at 8:32 pm (EST) on Jul 24, 2009

Thanks for the feedback. I don't know why I don't have an author icon--will definitely look into it. My novel about Jamestown is unpublished, but a short story involving the characters was published in "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine" (Dec. 2007). It's called "Dead of Winter." You can find a free copy (I hope) at www.lulu.com posted as a pdf under my name, Catherine Mambretti. It is also included in my short-story collection, THE EVIL THAT MEN DO, which is available at Amazon as an ebook for the Kindle and iPhone. A free copy can also be downloaded in several file formats from www.smashwords.com (until July 31, on sale). On August 1 the price goes up to "Buyer Sets the Price," starting at $0.99. I also have a mystery novel set in 1952 Chicago in ebook form. Since my fiction is mainly available only in ebook form, I haven't figured out how to get them listed on LibraryThing--which is why I've been neglecting this website. I love LibraryThing, but I have little time to devote to it. If you can tolerate the idea of an ebook, my novelette involving a contemporary Chippewa, CHALK GHOST, has just been named a "Semi-Finalist" in the www.TextNovel.com contest for 2009. All of these ebook websites, except TextNovel.com, require a credit card number even for free books. But you can get around that by buying yourself a gift card, if that's a concern (as it is for me). But TextNovel wants a cell phone number. I would appreciate a "thumbs up" vote at TextNovel to help me on my way to winning if you take a chance on it. I hope I've answered your questions. Please "read me." I'm eager for feedback.

posted by CCMambretti at 8:03 am (EST) on Jul 21, 2009

Thank you for the suggestions! I've actually set up my group as part of a graduate degree assignment, but I'll be sure to check out other groups for guidance and insight.

posted by ddgp2 at 6:13 am (EST) on Jul 19, 2009

On my 6:35 07/17 comment, the blue for the title didnʻt come through. I guess you would have to go the [rolandperkins] member page.

posted by rolandperkins at 6:38 pm (EST) on Jul 17, 2009

Hi Countrylife:

[Three Years a Soldier] by Perkins (,) George* already has a short review on its page. (If Iʻm understanding rightly what you mean by "its page". It is about half way down the page, following the time-honored "...not enough copies...to evaluate" statement, which almost everything Iʻve looked up seems to have. Certainly true in this case. I know of only 4 copies, counting my own, that are owned by individuals. Then there is the Woburn MA Public Library, and, probably some larger libraries in Massachusetts, and in libraries specializing in the civil War.

*Clicking on Perkins George, you donʻt get my great-grandfather, but another George Perkins, so click on hte title.

posted by rolandperkins at 6:35 pm (EST) on Jul 17, 2009

Hello from another Nebraskan! :)

~Jenny

posted by goddessladyj at 3:33 pm (EST) on Jul 6, 2009

Thanks for your comment (about the children's lit groups). It *is* really difficult to find what I want with the current search engine, and I appreciate you linking me to some of the groups that exist here already.

Cheers, and have a lovely day,
Kat

posted by MsCellophane at 3:50 pm (EST) on Jun 26, 2009

Hugs, my dear. Sometimes I feel pretty battered in these exchanges. It was sweet of you to be so supportive. I just wish people could not take everything so deadly seriously. Life is pretty cool, as a whole. Mary Lou (Fogie Extraordinaire)

posted by MerryMary at 3:10 pm (EST) on May 21, 2009

Thanks for your response. I didn't realize there was a separate "work" characterization of the books. :)

posted by br77rino at 5:08 am (EST) on May 13, 2009

MASTER LIST OF TALK TOPICS ON TAGGING STRUCTURE.

Originally posted at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/47204
tag ideas | RSI

Oct 16, 2008, 10:37am Message 7: countrylife

I think Tags is one of the things that LT does very well. Though, I think it could even be improved. I want to see some kind of order on my tag page, and trying to accomplish that yielded clunky prefix sorting. I would prefer additional functionality for the tag page - like bundles, or facets, or hierarchy, or categories... I offer this further reading on the subject. (Categorized under thread's main idea, showing the OP's topic title, and the link.):

~~~~~~~~ On Bundling Tags ~~~~~~~~
Tag Management -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
@3: "Basically, a tag bundle is... a bundle of tags. I can group any of the tags I've used into non-exclusive* batches. It's not strictly hierarchical, because, again, it's non-exclusive, and I can look at a tag across all my bundles or indeed all of the site, but it allows a level of containment for people who want to use it as a hierarchy or for people who want to use certain tags that way."

Bundle tags -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
@5: What del.icio.us does is allow you to bundle many tags together. I might have pervading themes within my library, and I might want many tags to sit together under that theme. The location example above is a good illustration of mhat I mean. Using del.icio.us, "home", "spare room", "on loan" might all be bundled together under the "location" bundle. Similarly, I could keep "roman", "greek", "latin" and "byzantium" together under a bundle called "ancients" or similar. It is a way of tagging tags, and helping one to organise them. I find it helps me be a bit more free in my tagging, as I know I can bundle-up any unbundled tags later just by looking at my list of unbundled tags."

and @8: "It is sort of hierarchical, except that a tab can be in more than one bundle. Just to be clear, I am suggesting functionality in one's personal view. I'm not sure whether sharing bundles with other users would really be useful, but for managing one's own categories and tags, I think it would be great."

Resolved: LibraryThing should have a "collections" feature. - http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Tim's comment (@7): "By the way, I'm not against "bundles" of tags. (Indeed, that's one reason why the tags feature is moving to the catalog page—so we can add functionality around it.)"
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...

~~~~~~~~ On Hierarchical Tags ~~~~~~~~
Tags Hierarchy (or sub category) -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
@1: "a tag-hierarchy/category thing: most of my books belong to a sub-sub-sub-sub category that could be nicely put and represented in a tree."
Hierarchical Tag System? -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Grouping Tags -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Hierarchical tags -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/1180
Sub-tags? -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...

~~~~~~~~ On Categorizing Tags ~~~~~~~~
Hierarchical tags -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
@12: "it would be nice, say on the tags page, to pool the tags into categories. It wouldn't change the structure of tags, but instead would give me some flexibility for their use."
@26: "the idea of being able to organize my tag page by groups that I define -- that is, ones that are useful to me. This would make it easier for me to find the tags I want when I am tagging."

~~~~~~~~ On Faceted Tags ~~~~~~~~
Tag Heirarchy -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
@1: "would like to click on a tag, say 'fiction', and then see the tags that were listed with that tag, like 'historical', and then tags under historical, like 'American Revolution'. This way I could find tags under tags to narrow down my search for books about a particular subject."

~~~~~~~~ On Auto-complete and Drop Downs ~~~~~~~~
Tags: drop down with my tags -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/41400
A drop down menu for tags? (suggestion) -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/32147
Making tagging easier -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
tagging -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/21518

~~~~~~~~ And other tag talk ~~~~~~~~
Tags associated with other tags -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...

Tagging improvements -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
"Auto-tagging" - Take existing tags to tag your books -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/5371
Tagging improvements -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Private tags -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...

Also, many posts here about tag concepts, in addition to numerous other suggestions:
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...

Further, SINCE LT does tags so well, I'd love to see them apply the concept to Groups and to Talk, as well. (You KNEW I couldn't stay off my soapbox!)

ETA: more

countrylife.key tags concepts master list of tagging concept topics

posted by countrylife at 9:37 am (EST) on Dec 11, 2008

THOUGHTS ON GROUP CREATION.

Originally posted at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/43051
What do you do if a book has the wrong author? | Site talk

Aug 11, 2008, 1:40pm Message 22: countrylife

The little orange box on the right of the “Create a New Group” page just begs to be ignored, color notwithstanding. IMO, it should be prominently placed FIRST, and it should have teeth. Then second, a Welcome. Third, a “How-To-Search”. And fourth, a “How-To-Create a new group so that it can be found”. So, borrowing from wiser minds, and adding notes along the way, I think something like this would do much to alleviate the problem:

(1) Teeth:
"Do not create "pointless," "meanginless" or "random" groups. We give all groups the benefit of the doubt, but the creation of multiple, duplicative and contentless groups is against these terms." (*t-1) Also, perhaps the TOS should display here, as well, especially the under-13 part. (*c)

Or maybe, when you click on "create a new group", you should get only a screen with the information above, and a "please search first" instruction, to which you "agree" because you are "over 13". THEN the boxes open for you to fill out (leaving the helpful instructions at the head of the page). (*c)

(2) Welcome:
“Welcome to the Groups of LibraryThing. There are already groups on many different subjects: general (e.g., Book Talk), site-oriented (e.g., Bug Collectors), genre-oriented (e.g., Example), author-oriented (e.g., Example), regional (e.g., Example), and the uncategorizable (e.g., examples). (*a)

(3) How To Search:
“How can you find a group that interests you. You can sort the list of all groups in several ways . . .” (*a)

The Complete Groups list can be sorted alphabetically, by number of members, and recent. For searching, the method which I’ve found to work best is: click the Groups tab, then go to the "Complete groups list" at the top right, then use your browser's find-on-this-page function to search for a specific interest. (*c)

“Search is word specific, and people idiosyncratic in their group descriptions: try several variations, verb and noun before deciding there are no other groups” (*r)

“ I have suggested before something like a "keyword quiz" that would prompt people attempting to start a group for "subject" keywords that would then present a list of other existing groups with those topics.

I understand that there have been instances of multiple duplicate groups being established where the first group on a subject was "too creatively named" to immediately be apparent what it was about (some examples being "The Globe" for discussions of Shakespeare or "The Master" for fans of P.G. Wodehouse) ... if there was a query prior to a new group's formation (where, for instance, the new group was about Shakespeare, "The Globe" would be suggested as an existing forum) this would end up steering the interested users off to where more of their kind were to be found, without them having to start up a redundant group!” (*b)

(4) How to Create:
“If, despite all this, you can't find a group on a topic that interests you, you can start your own group (explain how . . .). But PLEASE search first -- you don't want to end up talking only to yourself when there are LTers out there already talking about your favorite topic.” (*a)

“If you do start a group make the description contain as many search terms as possible.
example good, example bad. “ (*r)

Other pertinent notes from various threads:

“I think there has to be something more than just guidance. Maybe a forced search for similar groups somewhere in the group creation process, or restricting group creation even by 24 hours, just to make sure people don't come to the site once and create useless groups, then disappear.” (*z)

"Thanks for your suggestion for this new group, however you might want to check out Group ABC as they already have many members who are discussing exactly what you are interested in - you'll get better responses there than in a new group with few members." (*d)

" Procedure. Gentle reminders. Please, gentle. There's a world of difference between random crap resulting from newness and ignorance and purposeful defiance. Consider for example what happens when you edit a page on Wikipedia to read "hey mom!" They don't kill you. They just thank you for the interest, explain that your edit was visible to everyone and point to the sandbox area. Sugar, even in the face of bad behavior, goes far.” (*t-1)

“I think we should:
*work on the UI to make it easier to find groups and to accurately note which groups are active.
*consider making it easier to find groups, particularly at the point of MAKING A NEW ONE.
*we might consider allowing groups to attach themselves, optionally, to authors or tags.
*some sort of "no messages in a month"-rule might send a group into deep sleep.
*keep private groups off the radar, at least optionally.” (*t-2)

Here’s an example of how difficult this process is for newbies:
Searching either Lord of the Rings or "Lord of the Rings" returns 1802 groups. (-In April when I first posted this, now its 2724)
A search for LOTR, L.O.T.R. or L. O. T. R. each return 0. (Still 0)
Searching Tolkien returns 10 groups. (now 11)
Searching Tolkein returns 1 group.(still 1)

If a newbie (especially a newbie teeny-bopper, which seem to be a preponderance lately) tries to search for Lord of the Rings, she will either get 0 or way too many to wade through. She may not think of searching for the author, or of searching for a misspelling of the author's name. Or of searching for some other ~idea~ from the book that someone may have made into a group name. So ... she starts yet another duplicate group! (*c)

I just think that SOMETHING needs to be done. (Sorry for the length!)

Notes:
(*c) countrylife thoughts

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
(*a) by rebeccanyc ( @ #7)
(*r) reading_fox ( @ #12)
(*z) _Zoe_ ( @ #27)
(*d) TheTwoDs (@102)

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
(*b) BTRIPP ( @ #9)

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
(*t-1) timspalding (@ #38, further clarified @ #139, with pointers @ #166)

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
(*t-2) timspalding (@ #3)

.

eta: countrylife.key groups creation

posted by countrylife at 9:29 am (EST) on Dec 11, 2008

THOUGHTS ON GROUP CATEGORIES.

Originally posted at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/47774
Cleaning up groups 1: A simple classification system for groups | RSI

Oct 21, 2008, 3:06pm Message 38: countrylife

After reviewing all those conversations again, the thing that strikes me, is that it generally always came down to a necessity of tags. My fear is that the stated purpose here of "A simple classification system for groups" will not be able to stay simple, and like the conclusion of that important thread begun by Morphidae, in Feb 07, way too many categories had to continue to be added, in order to cover the various groups which don't fit there or there... I don't see how the category structure can be simple WITHOUT also utilizing tags. Personally, I still think that a combination of fewer, broader categories, coupled with abundant tagging, would be the best working solution.

And I am still a proponent of lquilter's list (quoted @22), to which I would add {further thoughts}:

(1) LIBRARYTHING
{Site specific talk (groups covering: FAQs, improvements, translating, etc.)}

(2) BOOKS
{Including: groups talking about specific books, authors, illustrators, publishers, etc.; general book talk (what we’re reading, recommendations, reviews, booklists, etc.; Other bookish things (care & repair, typography, bookshelves, bookmarks); Genres and types.}

(3) SUBJECTS or perhaps "interests" or "topics" or "passions" or "disciplines" (including disciplines, socio-political, interests, etc.; because, frankly, one person's "hobby" is another's discipline)
{Very broad category, including: “DISCIPLINES & SOCIO-POLITICAL” - Including things like science & nature; education; ecology, environment & agriculture; military, naval & war; law; medicine; etc. and also things like philosophy & religion; politics; social topics and civic items. PLUS “LEISURE & PERSONAL” - Groups talking about “sports and leisure” (hobbies, sports, travel & outdoor adventure, social networking & online & on air stuff), “homelife & personal” (home & garden, food & clothing, health & wellness, relationships, family & pets), “arts and entertainment” (movies, music, theatre, art, tv ...)}

(4) PEOPLE / affinity / membership groups.
{“GROUPS DEFINED BY MEMBERSHIP ATTRIBUTES” - Wherein one would find groups of “families and friends”, “private”, “universities and schools”, “offsite groups” (real book clubs, groups from work, etc.), “geographical, language & ethnic groups” (Ireland, Latin, Floridians, etc.), and other “self-described labels” (rednecks, teens, singles, gays, mensa...)}

countrylife.key groups mess countrylife.key tagging groups

posted by countrylife at 9:26 am (EST) on Dec 11, 2008

MASTER LIST OF "GROUPS MESS" TOPICS.

Originally posted at:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/47774
Cleaning up groups 1: A simple classification system for groups | RSI

Oct 21, 2008, 2:28pm Message 36: countrylife

At the risk of remaining unread because of long-windedness, I DO want to post these links together in one spot. So many people have chimed in with so many good ideas for so long, it seemed like they should be re-heard, now that the time has come. I list the name of the topic, along with its link; the original poster, date, board & number of messages; the topics covered in the discussion (as some are important to Groups, but not ~specific~ to Categories); note where category lists were mentioned; and a few quotes of interest.

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Proliferation of duplicate groups - http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
SqueakyChu, Aug 11, 2006, RSI, 11 messages
Duplicate groups, categories, point of group-creation,

“people are reinventing the wheel by creating new groups that are duplicates of ones that have already been created. Is there any way to stop this from happening so frequently?” @1

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An idea for the Groups area … -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/2128
BTRIPP, Sep 21, 2006, RSI, 4 messages
Point of creation

“possible to have a "are you sure?" screen pop up when somebody tries to create a group that would offer suggestions for existing groups (from their titles and descriptions) on the basis of the name they're trying to give a new group.”

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Group inflation -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Myshelves, Dec 19, 2006, RSI, 18 messages
tags, categories, group suggester via tags, point of creation, group help

“As LT continues to grow, it is apt to become mission impossible for users to determine whether there is an existing group for a topic. (It isn't easy at present.) Before long, there could be multiple groups with different names to discuss one author or work. Is there a solution which could be implemented while (if) there is still a chance? Could Groups be organized under some broad categories, to make it easier to determine whether a group for a subject or work or author has already been created?” @1

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Boards getting out of hand -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Blissfulwitch, Jan 29, 2007, RSI, 32 messages
tags, groups attached to authors, search, categories, UI, point of creation

“just wondering if anyone else felt the boards are getting out of hand. There is no form of organization that I can decipher, so there are four, five groups all for the same purpose or target audience. Single members (many of whom have no books posted or very few posted) are creating numerous groups with three members. One member creates the same group four times, just with different names. Other members are creating private groups where they are the only member to keep track of their own personal reading.” @1

“I think we should:
*work on the UI to make it easier to find groups and to accurately note which groups are active.
*consider making it easier to find groups, particularly at the point of MAKING A NEW ONE.
*we might consider allowing groups to attach themselves, optionally, to authors or tags.
*some sort of "no messages in a month"-rule might send a group into deep sleep.
*keep private groups off the radar, at least optionally.
But, fundamentally, LibraryThing's forums are an experiment in how forums work, and not an unsuccessful one. Given the other ways of getting at messages—all-messages, who's talking about my books? who's talking about author X, etc.—I feel that the "miscellaneousness" of the groups feature is ultimately a strength.” Timspalding @3

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Boards getting out of hand -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Blissfulwitch, Jan 29, 2007, Site Talk, 20 messages
Favorite groups, sorting groups, private groups, tags, categories, before creation

“There are just SO many groups and no organization, it's hard to actually find a group you'd want to join because you have to wade through the hundreds of groups with no messages and three members.” @1

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Grouping Groups -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Morphidae. Feb 7, 2007, Site Talk, 51 messages
categories, tags, Why tags would work better than categories
Category list @1, 19, 34,

“I'm going to do a spreadsheet with a listing of all groups and what "category" they fall into.” @1

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Restrict Group Statups -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
SimonW11, Feb 27, 2007, RSI, 81 messages
Private groups, spam groups,

“the main problem is all the private groups. I hardly ever look at the list of newly-created groups anymore because of them, but the last time I looked through the list a quarter to a third were private. If those didn't show up, the clutter would be hugely reduced.” @7

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A better Message Board? -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Jina, Mar 20, 2007, Site talk, 14 messages
Search talk

“i'm a bit confused about the categories.
it's like there are no categories.” @3

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Culling groups -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Kageeh, Apr 23, 2007, Site talk, 117 messages
tags, group sort, introduction to groups, Group how-to, point-of-creation, google-search for site, archive groups, delete groups, private groups, kiddie groups
Group categories @53

“What happened to the effort to at least organize all these groups? I believe a great many of the older, original groups are being ignored because no one can find them, least of all new members, so new but similar groups are being formed every hour. Soon, those too disappear into the wide roiling sea of groups.” @1

“have some introductory information on the main groups page for newcomers. I just looked at the information given in the Tour about groups, and it isn't particularly explanatory about how to find groups. I pity the poor newcomers seeing such daunting lists and imagine them throwing up their hands in despair.” @7

“The Groups page has become so unuse-able, I just go to the same four groups and ignore everything else. I don't know if I'm missing out on meeting some great booklovers but, unfortunately, I will never be able to find them on LT.” @40

“with so many groups available drive by joinings are very rare- I do when I see an interesting group - but its hardly enough to make an interesting community.” @59

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Tagging Groups -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Fannyprice, Jun 27, 2007, RSI, 9 messages
Group tags

“would it be possible to add a feature that would allow users to apply tags to LT groups? While many groups have clear names that make it easy to find them and to understand what they are about, the purpose of other groups is less obvious from the name.” @1

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Those random groups -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Sophies_choice, Jul 11, 2007, Site talk, 172 messages
Kiddie groups, Tim messages, TOS

“Our motives are clear. We are absolutely commited to KEEPING THE BOOK CONNECTIONS PRIMARY. We are NOT becoming "just another social network." Not at all. I founded this site on book data and the connections between books and book lovers. I am uninterested in social networking per se—social networking without content. I am only interested in social networking if it deepens connections ABOUT something. We are not, and will never be MySpace.” Quote of Tim’s @35, & TOS clarification @139

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Sorting Groups -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Countrylife, Jul 13, 2007, RSI, 48 messages
Group tags, group categories, point of group-creation, Why tags would work better than categories
Category list @3, 26 & 38 & 47

“addressing here only the divisions of groups for the purpose of finding things more easily.” @2

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Sorting Groups --- Revisited -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/18623
Countrylife, Aug 20, 2007, RSI, 16 messages
Group categories, Group tags, group search, duplicate groups, point of group-creation idiot box, group affinities,
Category list @4,

“3 main problems with Groups – (1) Finding relevant groups, (2) Proliferation of duplicate & “silly” groups, (3) Messiness of the groups page.” @1

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A Group ordering -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Philosojerk, Sep 25, 2007, Site talk, 21 messages
Group tags, group categories, group suggester

“think tags would be easier and better (this would only work if everyone could tag, not just the group owner). Tags are just so much more flexible and could be integrated with the book tags, so that when you looked at a tag page you could see books with that tag and groups with that tag.” @9

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A Place to try and sort groups? -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Philosojerk, Sep 26, 2007, CK&WT, 14 messages
Group tags, group categories,
Category list @2,

“I'm just looking for a way to bring some method to the madness & disorganization that is currently the groups - I find it insanely frustrating trying to find what I'm looking for in there.” @1

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Grouping Groups -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/24649
The_Kat_Cache, Nov 29, 2007, RSI, 4 messages
Group categories
Category list @1

“I think it would be useful if groups could be organized into some sort of categorical structure or perhaps if groups could use tags, either of which could be designated by the group's creator.” @1

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If I have to see another message on X…. -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Nperrin, Dec 16, 2007, RSI, 65 messages
Talk search, site map, FAQ location, new users group, user-friendly, signposts, frequently requested features, user interface,

“One of the problems is that the 'Everything is Miscellaneous' nature of much of the Help here doesn't work. Without some form of working search, tags, indexes, tabs, voting, whatever - it's just a mess of inaccessible data.” @37

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Favorite Groups on Talk/Your World -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/29627
Teelgee, Feb 9, 2008, RSI, 15 messages
Favorite Groups, group tags,

“it would be nice to be able to indicate Your Favorite Groups” @1

“more than just favourites: I'd like to be able to tag my groups and then view Talk by any subset of my groups that I want.” @6

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To solve the chaos that is Talk: Forums -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Sophies_choice, Feb 17, 2008, RSI, 115 messages
Groups structure, duplicate groups, searching groups, tagging groups, point of group-creation reminder, ignore group, group categories

“Groups page is a disaster. I gave up trying to find new interesting groups ages ago, the search isn't helpful, duplicate groups get created constantly...I am for the idea of tagging groups. Tagging is such an important part of this site, it seems like it would probably work to sort groups out, too.” @14

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Question / possible request for touchstone counts. And other groups organization thoughts. -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/30918
Espera, Feb 28, 2008, RSI, 4 messages
Group organization, group search, group tags, talk tags,

“through a few of the discussions regarding organization of the groups/searching for groups. And one of the comments related to using tags to help search for groups better. I would also have some interest in being able to add tags to specific threads.” @1

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Here’s a different idea for groups…. -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/31060
JPB, Mar 1, 2008, RSI, 20 messages
Group tags

“....why not let the owner of a group add TAGS to its description? That way if you are interested in groups on a given topic, you can search for 'group tags'.” @1

“Tags are eeevil.” (Tim) @2

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How does the search in Groups work? -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Countrylife, Apr 10, 2008, Site talk, 3 messages
Talk Search

“Searching either Lord of the Rings or "Lord of the Rings" returns 1802 groups.
A search for LOTR, L.O.T.R. or L. O. T. R. each return 0.
Searching Tolkien returns 10 groups.
Searching Tolkein returns 1 group.
If a newbie … tries to search for Lord of the Rings, she will either get 0 or way too many to wade through. She may not think of searching for the author, or of searching for a misspelling of the author's name. Or of searching for some other ~idea~ from the book that someone may have made into a group name. So ... she starts yet another duplicate group!” @1

“Group search simply doesn't work, not in any way that is helpful at least.” @3

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Merging existing groups -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/34484
Booksloth, Apr 14, 2008, RSI, 17 messages
Group categories (index), group tagging,

“it's not always easy, or even possible, to identify the topic of a group just by its title. Would it be an idea to have a kind of 'index of groups by subject' … (Then we might be able to merge all those duplicates into single groups and make the site a bit less sprawling. {merging nixed}) @1

“it would be easier to find a specific group if Groups was ~fixed~ somehow. Whether by (A) allowing groups to tag themselves or by (B) letting each group funnel itself into a ~category~ (or two). (A) would make it easier to SEARCH and find something specific. (B) would make it easier to BROWSE and run across something interesting.” @16

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Group Search: Topic title only -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/42589
Mercenary_Roadie, Aug 2, 2008, RSI, 2 messages
Talk search,

“add the ability to search only the Topic title in a Group.” @1

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“Ignore this Group” Feature -
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...
Exlibrismcp, Aug 15, 2008, FAQ, 3 messages
Search & sample groups

“the Complete List section is so overwhelming my brain freezes” @1

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Suggestion: Re-order of Groups listings on the Groups-home page. -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/45693
Countrylife, Sep 16, 2008, RSI, 7 messages
Site help

“think it would be helpful to newcomers if a category of “Help”, listing helpful groups like "FAQ", were one of the first categories to meet their eyes.” @1

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Group suggester? -
http://www.librarything.com/topic/46834
Katya0133, Oct 3, 2008, RSI, 9 messages

“Each group page has a weighted list of most commonly shared books. What about turning that around and suggesting groups to people, based on the books in their library?” @1
“It would get around the problem of not finding a group because its name doesn't include your search term.” @9

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eta: countrylife.key groups mess master list of topics

posted by countrylife at 8:20 am (EST) on Dec 11, 2008

Hi! Saw your name listed when I looked up Rachel Hinkle Shoemaker. I'm an architectural historian in Tucson, AZ and came across a diary while doing a survey on a historic home that was written by Rachel's husband, Jacob. It only covers a year, from May 1866 - June 25, 1967, the day before their wedding. He was a superintendent of schools for the Freedmen's Relief Association in Virginia for a short period, retiring due to health problems. He returns to Philadelphia and begins teaching elocution and through it all speaks of his love, Rachie. It is a fascinating piece of history as he speaks in detail of the events and people of the time, and was friends with several famous people connected to the Civil War and the ending of slavery. I have not found a photo of him, but it's wonderful to be able to put a face to the woman he loved so dearly. Thank you. They opened a school of elocution and oratory in Philadelphia a few years after their marriage and she continued the school after his untimely death in his late 30's, until age 75 I believe. Apparently she never remarried. They had only one child, as far as I know, a son, Frank, who was the father to the owner of the home I surveyed. There are no children or other family members left, so I've taken it upon myself to transcribe the diary, filling in histories of the people, places, and events he speaks of.

Anyhow, thanks again for the photograph! If you have any further information on either of the Shoemakers, I'd be really grateful.

Catherine Westergaard

posted by cath1961 at 8:57 pm (EST) on Oct 28, 2008

Hello Countrylife,

Just to say many thanks for informing me about Awful Lit (which I've just joined) and apologies for tardiness of this acknowledgement. Sometimes I don't have access to a terminal out here and get woefully behind with the proper courtesies. You were helpful as well as considerate to include a handy URL.

I like the look of your library (from the photo) and note that we share a few titles though I may not have listed any yet (matches I mean). By and large our tastes seem very different but I'm always keen to extend my gastronomic experiments, say, and you would seem an expert on that subject (inter alia).

All the best now, and bon appetit with whatever you're having today.
R.

posted by reuchlin at 11:22 am (EST) on Sep 19, 2008

Reply to cath61:

Hi, cath61! You made this comment on my profile page: "Hi! I came across your name while looking up Rachel Hinkle Shoemaker who just happens to be in this book, along with the photo. I can't tell you how excited I was to find this! I am a historian in Tucson AZ and while doing research on a home was going through the library of the late owner. I came across a diary that had been left behind by the owners ex-husband. It was the diary of Jacob W. Shoemaker, who talks about his "loved one" whom he refers to as "Rachie"...as in Rachel Shoemaker. Unfortunately there was only one diary, which I am in the process of transcribing, and the last entry is the day before their marriage in 1867. He writes of being very ill at times throughout the diary, and he did pass away very young, at age 38, in 1880. If you have any information regarding any mention of her family, would you pass it on to me? I only know of one son, born in 1870, named Frank, who was the father to the man whose home the diary was found in. Thank you again for posting this! It's been a long process, still on going, and it's always encouraging to find out a little bit more." and "Sorry, didn't realize it didn't show the book I was talking about...it was "A Woman of the Century by Francis E Willard". Sorry, I'm new here. Thanks again!"

Since you know that Rachel is included in my old book, I'm guessing that you have already seen her page. Just in case you have not, I scanned it and uploaded it as my profile picture, so you can grab it off of there if you need to. This book has been very interesting - reading about the lives of these women. My favorite author, Pansy, is included, which is why I bought the book.

So, I'm sorry, but I do not know anything else about your Rachel, other than one of her books I was able to track down through bookfinder: Delsartean Pantomimes With Recital and Musical Accompaniment: Designed for Home, School and Church Entertainments. Trying a url: http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?ac=sl&... . That book puts me in mind of one which I found interesting on eBay not too long ago, but not being in my budget at the moment, I added it to my catalog here, with the tag "wishlist": Chautauqua instructor of elocution and dramatic art. (That auction must have ended; could not find it again there.) My Pansy was a worker in the original New York Chautauqua; perhaps your Rachel was, too.

Good luck with your research. I hope to begin seeing some of her books (and yours about her!?) soon to be in your library here! (I keep a separate library (chautauqua.girls) where I am in (slow) process of entering as much as I can find out about Pansy.) I'm adding you to my 'interesting libraries' so I can look for those books to show up! Thank you for contacting me. I find such things fascinating!

posted by countrylife at 9:24 am (EST) on Sep 3, 2008

posted by countrylife at 9:25 am (EST) on Sep 3, 2008

Sorry, didn't realize it didn't show the book I was talking about...it was "A Woman of the Century by Francis E Willard". Sorry, I'm new here. Thanks again!

posted by cath61 at 11:13 pm (EST) on Sep 2, 2008

Hi! I came across your name while looking up Rachel Hinkle Shoemaker who just happens to be in this book, along with the photo. I can't tell you how excited I was to find this! I am a historian in Tucson AZ and while doing research on a home was going through the library of the late owner. I came across a diary that had been left behind by the owners ex-husband. It was the diary of Jacob W. Shoemaker, who talks about his "loved one" whom he refers to as "Rachie"...as in Rachel Shoemaker. Unfortunately there was only one diary, which I am in the process of transcribing, and the last entry is the day before their marriage in 1867. He writes of being very ill at times throughout the diary, and he did pass away very young, at age 38, in 1880. If you have any information regarding any mention of her family, would you pass it on to me? I only know of one son, born in 1870, named Frank, who was the father to the man whose home the diary was found in. Thank you again for posting this! It's been a long process, still on going, and it's always encouraging to find out a little bit more.

posted by cath61 at 11:12 pm (EST) on Sep 2, 2008

What are your favourite scenes in Joe Lincoln's "THANKFUL'S INHERITANCE"?

posted by AurelArkad at 5:09 am (EST) on Aug 10, 2008

Spreadsheet arrived safely. Many thanks.
Fox.

posted by reading_fox at 8:38 am (EST) on Jul 16, 2007