CATs -- Proposals of New Themes and Whether to Keep Any of Last Year's

What do you think? Do we keep the RandomCAT, the AwardsCAT and/or the AlphaCAT?

And what new themes do you suggest?

Some of my best reads this year have been from the AwardCATs. I'd love to keep them for another year, maybe with a few of the same awards and a few different ones for variety. The RandomCATs have been fun, too. I could go either way with the AlphaCATs.

The Random CATs have been a whole lot of fun, especially seeing what books people fit into the parameters of the challenge. And actually I had an idea for one for next year, so if we keep them I'd like dibs on running September's :) (it's a month-specific theme)

The Alpha CATs have also been fun, especially trying to find titles that fit the other CATs (although I felt the T one got a bit silly when the word "the" was used for the challenge letter). The year-long Q and X challenge was a good idea too.

I've also liked the Awards CATs and have managed to find books for most months. My only problem is that sometimes I don't get to the books in time!

I wasn't that crazy about the AwardsCAT. Often there wasn't anything I had in my TBR that would fit. I love the RandomCAT. And I like the idea of a MysteryCAT or a GeographicCAT maybe.

If we keep the AwardsCAT then we should consider changing some of the awards to give people different lists to choose from. I liked the RandomCATs and the AlphaCATs well enough to try them again.

I didn't plan very well for the CATs, so the ones I participated in were just happy coincidences for the most part. I liked the AlphaCat, but agree with rabbitprincess that using "the" for the T CAT was silly. Maybe we could compromise on that next year? In Libraryland, if the first word of a title is "A," "An," or "The," it gets dropped when you're searching. Maybe titles that start with one of those words wouldn't coun't, but if the word was imbedded in the title it would. So The Client wouldn't count, but Gone With the Wind would.

I would like to see the Award and Random CATs return, and I love the idea of a Mystery CAT. I could live without the Alpha if need be.

@ 8 -- I like the GeographiCAT idea! I also really like RandomCAT and would love to see that come back next year. I don't care as much about Awards and Alpha...I never picked up books on purpose for those CATs unless I was planning to read them anyway.

I really enjoyed the RandomCAT and the AlphaCAT as I could usually find something from my TBR pile to read for the challenge.

I have participated in all three CATs, but have found I've enjoyed the Alpha and Random the most. As others like @majkia and @hailelib have similar issues to mine, perhaps a slight revamping of AwardsCAT could make it easier to participate...I often can't find reads from the AwardCAT lists every month.

I like the idea of a geographic based category. Even though I've participated in the AlphaCAT, it's not one I think I'd want to repeat. Too many of the books I want to read have already passed all the letters of the alphabet. In other words, I think it's a bit too restrictive. If it came up again, I wouldn't deliberately seek books to fit in it. If something happened to fit, I would add it.

Although I've yet to participate in any of the CATs (not for lack of trying!) I think I agree with the others on the AlphaCAT not really pushing us out of our comfort zones. I really like the ideas of the MysteryCAT and the GeographicCat for next year.

I also enjoyed the AwardsCat which got me to read books that I never would have read otherwise. And the RandomCat was fun. I could live without the alphacat. I do like MysteryCat but Geographic doesn't turn me on. However, I am sure I could find reads for most any category and if not, just skip that month. As one who used 'the' for the alphacat "T", I happen to think there is nothing wrong with being 'silly'. lol

I would be interested in the GeographicCAT or the MysteryCAT. I liked the theme of the RandomCAT even if I didn't participate for lack of organization. I agree that the AlphaCAT does not push us to try new genre or style and I didn't have enough books in the AwardsCAT category to really appreciate.

Although the Alpha Cat worked for me because Ihad anAlpha themed challenge this year, I'd say I enjoyed the other Cats more. I ended up finding books in the TBR that otherwise might have languished who knows how long before I got to them and enjoyed a lot of them. I like the ideas suggested of Geographic or Mystery Cats too.

I am ready to drop the AlphaCat, but I really enjoyed both the RandomCat and the AwardCat. But since we all seem to really want the Cats to contine, maybe we should look at dropping the AlphaCat and AwardCat for this year, we can always bring them back for another year. I like the sound of both a MysteryCat and a GeographicCat. I think the RandomCat should be a keeper as it is always something new and different.

I enjoyed both RandomCAT and AwardCAT this year - Random because it was a lot of fun to see what the new one would be and to look through my stacks to see if something would fit, and Award was great for getting me to read those "must-reads" I have collected but not gotten around to. I never did manage to follow along with Alpha, I'm afraid. MysteryCat and GeographicCAT both sound like something I would participate it. Definitely, I vote for bringing back Random!

I like the idea behind having the CATs (although haven't participated much as I'm too much a mood (random) reader) if the books I want to read at the time fit and if I remember I'll add to the CAT thread. I have no objection to re-running any of the CATs I like the idea of a GeographicCAT too although I think Japan could probably count alone rather than in "rest of Asia"?

What about a HistoryCAT (books set in certain time periods?) next year?

Yeah, HistoryCAT could be fun and interesting too.

I didn't do a CAT this year (Wasn't sure what it was) but would like to jump in next year. GeographicCAT and MysteryCAT (practically my entire 2014 Challenge) would fit with me. Random sounded interesting, too.

I'd vote for HistoryCAT, GeographicCAT and RandomCAT for 2014

I like the idea of a HistoryCAT better than a MysteryCAT because it would be open to more people. I don't read that many mysteries, so I probably wouldn't even bother looking at a MysteryCAT. I did look at the AwardsCat this year, although I didn't end up reading anything for it.

What if instead of a MysteryCAT we had a GenreCAT? It could work similar to the AwardsCAT and have a couple of different options each month. One option each month could be a different type of mystery, romance, or speculative fiction (science fiction/fantasy).

Like the idea of a GenreCat! Might encourage me to get out of my comfort zone

I had fun with all the CATs this year, trying to fit books from my shelves to them, even though I didn't participate in each one every month. The CATs encouraged me to pick up books that I'd had for a while but kept putting off. I'd love to keep the RandomCAT; the surprise each month was fun to look forward to. I also like the ideas of GenreCATs and GeographicCATs.

We had a genre-based CAT this year, with the AwardsCAT. I'd hesitate to make the CATs so broad that they're meaningless. Did people enjoy the genre focused part of the AwardsCAT best? Did it push you to push outside of your usual reading? I noticed from the comments that most people seemed to be looking at the CATs as ways to get books off of their TBR, and skipping CATs that didn't feature books that they had available.

Keep in mind that the CATs are optional and that some CATs will simply not appeal to everyone. We also have had themed reads, such as Atwood in April, that have worked well outside of the CATs.

HistoryCAT is a good idea, although there is already a spin-off group called Reading Through Time. I'd hesitate to duplicate their efforts. If you're interested, they're over here:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/readingthroughtime

They're an active and interesting group and I'd encourage anyone who is looking to read more historical fiction to consider it. They alternate between themes and historical periods.

I think that the best CATs were the months that stretched me to find something. For that the RandomCAT was good, as well as the AwardsCAT. Months were it was just a matter of grabbing something that I was going to read soon anyway were less interesting than months where I had to really look around.

The Award and Random CATs were my favorites, I did a mix of fitting books in from what I was already planning and seeking out books for the CATs. I am guilty of staying away from the genres that I didn't care for with the Award CAT, but when I did want to try a genre I liked having a list of the award winning work to pick from. I thought the timing of the Award CATs was particularly thoughtful since they often were the same month of the current awarding. I participated in the AlphaCAT regularly, but that was more of juggling what I was planning on reading with the coinciding month.

My top pick for a new CAT for next year would be Geography, followed by Mystery. And thanks for the link to the History group (although I need another group like I need another book on my shelf)!

#28 - Aliciamay, the Reading Through Time Challenge is purely optional, if you want to join in with that month's read great, but if you decide to skip it, that's fine too. We'd love to see you over there.

I liked the AwardsCAT best, because it encouraged me to go look for books I might not read otherwise. I didn't care much for Random CAT, because there wasn't enough lead time for me to get a book and get it read. AlphaCAT - meh.

I like the idea of GeographicCAT and HistoryCAT (despite the existence of the Reading Through Time group), but I don't understand how MysteryCAT would work. GenreCAT sounds too much like AwardsCAT, so I'd vote just to keep the awards.

The only other suggestion I can come up with would be a DeweyCAT based on the dewey decimal system - each month a different set of numbers would be read - 100's in Jan, 200's in Feb, etc, then 000's in Oct, and maybe biographies in Nov (my library has them shelved apart from everything else, is that the norm?) and something else in Dec - perhaps a "best of 2014" based on what everyone read the other 11 months or something.

Right now the suggestions I like best are AwardsCAT, GeographicCAT, and HistoryCAT.

The reading I did for all 3 categories moved books off the TBR which I'm happy about. I was surprised that I didn't like the Awards Cat more than I did. Sometimes the genre just isn't one I'm interested in and I don't want to spend time on it. I don't feel that I have to participate in a CAT each month though. I would like to keep Random CAT but I can read Alpha CAT on my own. It does help me move TBRs.

oooohh, I like the DeweyCat idea? That might take me out of my comfort zone!

>29 DeltaQueen50: Thanks DeltaQueen! For right now I am 'watching' the group to see what months pique my interest and then I'll hop in. From what I've seen in the posts I like the variety!

Oh, and I like the DeweyCAT idea too. I am already imagining the fun of going to the main, big library in my city and perusing the shelves for something eye catching and informative.

I like the DeweyCat idea too!

Just a recap on discussion so far:

Old CATs:
RandomCAT: YES!
AwardCAT: yeah, ok.
AlphaCAT: maybe.

Suggestions:
DeweyCAT
MysteryCAT
HistoryCAT
GeographyCAT
GenreCAT

Keep talking. Let people you know who haven't weighed in know about the discussion here. I'd like to wait to do any actual decision making until October or November to give everyone ample time to think about this. Which ones would you participate in? How often?

My thoughts on the 5 proposals to date:
DeweyCAT - I tried a Dewey category one year and disliked it so much that I'd probably avoid this one unless there's something I definitely want to read in the category.

MysteryCAT - I love mysteries, but I'm not sure how this one would work. I'm not even sure I'd want to participate in every category.

HistoryCAT - I haven't joined the Reading Through Time challenge because there are some eras and locations in which I'm less interested than others. I might or might not participate, depending on which time periods or locations are selected.

GeographyCAT - I like to vary my locations. As long as the regions are somewhat broad for places where there are fewer options, this one would likely work for me. (For example, all of Eastern Europe as opposed to an individual country such as Croatia.)

GenreCAT - There are reasons I don't read certain genres often. It's because I don't like them. If the genre is one that doesn't work for me, I'll probably avoid reading anything that month.

Suggested mascot for the DeweyCAT?

37> Just to clarify, my idea for the GenreCAT was that instead of just a MysteryCAT, it would include "all" genres. Each month would feature a different subgenre and would hopefully somehow thematically relate across genres.

For example, if the "theme" for the month was history it would be:

Historical mystery
Historical romance
Steampunk
Alternate history or time-travel (if they spend a lot of time in the past)

For October (Halloween) we could have "darker" subgenres:

Noir
Romantic Suspense
Dark Fantasy
Cyberpunk or Biopunk

The problem I had with the AwardsCAT was, like you, I don't read certain genres - or I only read certain subgenres. The awards honor the "best example" of that genre - but if it's not a genre I usually like, I don't want the "best example," I want the light version. Or the one that has vampires or cats.

#39 by @BookLizard> LOL. I'm with you. I despise Romance and I don't care how wonderful the book is judged to be by someone else, I'll hate it.

I do like this presentation of the GenreCAT and that sounds like fun, although I'm not sure how we'd pick the themes part.

I didn't participate in the CAT challenges in 2013 so whatever you all decide sounds fine with me. I definitely want to give these a try next year (or perhaps even later in 2013).

40> You're the one who started it with the MysteryCAT! LOL. What did you have in mind for that?

I was looking at this list of subgenres which is a little dated - http://www.writersdigest.com/qp7-migration-all-articles/qp7-migration-fiction/ge... - and just trying to make some connections. Like I saw "courtroom dramas" and thought about what other kinds of courts there are - like royal courts. So the theme could be "Order in the Court" and it could include romances involving royalty (contemporary or historical) or lawyers, Arthurian fantasy, maybe dystopias that involve kings or court systems. Another mystery category was "medical" and I was thinking of romances with doctors, or fantasy/science fiction with viruses.

We'd just have to be clear that it's a subgenre theme - not an overall theme like the RandomCAT. So it's a genre book with a medical theme, not one that has a medical-related word in the title.

#42 I'd like some more information about how this would work - are you still talking about MysteryCAT, or are your examples for a GenreCAT? I thought GenreCAT would be just reading a book in the designated genre each month - westerns, romance, sci-fi, chick-lit, etc. Are you suggesting that we would choose our own genre but that it should relate to a designated theme for the month? (courts and medicine, in your example). I'm still not sure how MysteryCAT would work, but it seems that you're suggesting that a sub-genre of mysteries would be designated for each month - so there might be courtroom dramas (as in your example) and police procedurals and - what? Are there 12 different subgenres of mysteries? And if so, will I recognize them?

43> My examples were for a GenreCAT, but maybe a better name for it would be SubgenreCAT. I don't know what majkia had in mind when she suggested the MysteryCAT, but I don't really read mysteries which is why I suggested a GenreCAT instead, so it would be inviting to more people. It would NOT be reading a different genre every month.

http://www.writersdigest.com/qp7-migration-all-articles/qp7-migration-fiction/ge... lists a whole bunch of subgenres for different genres, including 21 for mystery/crime. Chick-Lit is a subgenre of Romance. Westerns don't seem to have many subgenres, but I suppose if a particular Western fit the theme, you could use it. Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman?

The history, "dark," court, and medicine were just some examples. If you look at the list, you can see that other possiblities would include Comedy, Military, Spies, etc.

What do you use the CATs for? Is it to stretch your reading into areas you usually avoid, is it to read something off of your TBR or is it to read a book you would have read anyway? How far out of your comfort zone do you let the CATs pull you? For example, were there prizes featured in the AwardsCAT that you ignored because it was in a genre you don't read? Or did you look at the lists of nominees and winners before deciding not to read from that list?

Are you looking for CATs that fit what you're planning for your own challenge already, or are you looking for CATs that lead you to read something different?

Let's get a feel for why we like the CATs we like. Also, do you feel obligated to look at CATs that don't interest you and why?

The CATs lead me to read some books that I would not have picked up otherwise, for instance Reservation Blues. I think my idea was partly to widen my reading and partly to read books that have been on my shelves for years without being read. Although I did reread a Dick Francis mystery for one.

There are only a few genres I don't read already. I'm comfortable with my comfort zone and feel no need to stretch out per se. But I look at a book on an individual basis anyway. So altho I hate the Romance genre, as it exists today, I do read some older books that are sometimes classified as Romance.

I check out each CAT and see if I have something in my TBR that will fit. Rarely will I check out the Library or buy a book merely because I have so bloody many already I need to read.

Reading above, maybe instead of a SubGenreCAT or a MysteryCAT (which I'd envisioned something like mysteries with themes or time periods) we need a ThemeCAT?

Would that work for you, Liz? as you describe it in #44? Or do you envision that SubGenreCAT as a bit more restrictive than just theme?

Because I was determined to read mostly from my TBR this year, I was sure that there were award CATS that I'd have to skip. But I was surprised when I found by looking at my Zeitgeist that I had a book for almost every one - even genres that I don't read. So although my reading isn't exactly what I had been planning, for me it's good to be getting some of these books out of the TBR. And those I didn't have a book for, I just skipped. So there were times I used it to stretch my reading and I think that was good for me - even if it reinforced that there are genres I'm not fond of.

The CATs this year have stretched my reading. I've tried to find books for each of the CATS that fit my 2013 categories as well as other challenges (Commonwealth, Reading Through Time). If it helps get books out of my TBR stash, so much the better, but I also use the library regularly and I don't mind checking books out of the library to fit the CATs. I wouldn't be nearly as enthusiastic about the CATs if I used it only to read books I would have read anyway. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to find books that interest me for all of the AwardCATs, although it was difficult for the RITA and the Bram Stoker awards.

I'm not terribly excited about the idea of subgenre CATs. Mystery is my favorite genre, but there are mystery subgenres that I just don't like. I would probably skip those.

Six of my top reads this year have been for the AwardCATs:

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (IMPAC Dublin)
In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin (Pulitzer)
The Last Child by John Hart (Edgar)
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (Local award - Volunteer State Book Award)
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat (American Book Award)
The Transformation of Virginia, 1740-1790 by Rhys Isaac (Pulitzer)

Only two of those books came from my TBR stash. I don't know that I would have read the Mueenuddin or Danticat books without the AwardCATs. Only two of the five fiction books on the list are mysteries, my favorite genre.

Only one two of my worst reads of the year has have been an AwardCATs. It One was from my TBR stash. and one was a mystery that was on my Overdrive Wishlist at the public library. I would have eventually read it those books anyway and I wouldn't have liked it them whenever I read it them.

I have used the CAT's in different ways. Sometimes I was able to pick something off my shelves that had been sitting there for years unread. Other times I read something that would never have crossed my mind to read. And sometimes, I just skipped it because nothing struck my fancy.

I love hearing what others thought of the books they chose.

I wasn't as active in the CATs challenge as I had hoped to be, or as I wanted to be, but that had less to do with the CATs and more to do with me and the fact that I've had whole months with practically no books being completed at all.

I liked the CATs for encouraging me to consider books I didn't already plan to read. I tried to find books on the awards lists that I already had on my wishlist and that I could readily get from the library, or books I own that were dusty on the shelf. (That is, books I'd already expressed an interest in, but had never made any effort to actually read.) Even in genres that I don't normally read, I was able to find something I was willing to try. And sometimes I went completely away from the wishlist and picked something JUST BECAUSE it was on the award list.

And this points to why I was less fond of the RandomCAT - there was usually no finite list to choose from, so it was harder for me to pick a book that I didn't already plan to read.

I feel like the AlphaCAT just changed the timing of when I read what I was going to read anyway.

The RandomCAT was good for "books I'd already expressed an interest in, but had never made any effort to actually read" or some Book Bullets.

For the AwardCAT, I looked at most of them, but they just never worked. Either they were books I had already read, books I had no interest in reading, or the latest book in a series I haven't read (and I don't like starting mid-series).

Could the GeographyCAT include Travel books? I have a few on the shelf that a prompt may help me bump up the list...

My main goal with the CAT's was to read something that I already owned - it was a great way to help me clear my TBR pile. Occasionally, I ended up with a book not already on my list, but I definitely wasn't using it as a way to stretch myself reading wise as I fell that I already stretch myself with the challenge. Plus, I read a fairly wide variety of types of books and don't have too much that I won't read.

Personally, if I can find a book that will fit into both a CAT and one of my own categories, I'll read it; otherwise, I'll just ignore the CAT. I don't usually have the time or motivation to do "extra," non-challenge reading. So basically, I'm open to having as many 2014 CATs as people want to have. I'll participate in the ones that work for me and not worry about the rest!

#55 I thought that went without saying - that CAT books would also have to fit into the category challenge!

@ 56 -- Haha, well, maybe I just stated the obvious. I guess my point was that not all the CATs are going to work for everyone, and that's OK. For example, I don't have a category for awards and don't particularly care about them, so I don't go out of my way to participate in the AwardCAT. But I don't mind if other people want to do it!

I read TBRs if I have one that meets the CAT, this is one of the reasons I like the Alpha, there is always something on the TBR pile (my rule is to use author last name only as a qualifier). If there is not a TBR I may or may not participate in that month's CAT depending on what else I want to read that month. I like the flexibility of participating by month or not although my preference is to participate.

I just used the CATs as a supplement to my own categories, most likely what I planned to read at some point anyway. I just moved the order around to fit the monthly CAT.

I usually found something either in the real or electronic TBR that fit, but if not, I didn't go out of my way to put it on hold at the library or buy it.

I usually stay within my comfort zone, although I have been know to stray from it once in a blue moon:)

I found that the various CATs worked to both stretch my reading and also to reduce my TBR piles. The AlphaCats mostly were for books I was planning on reading anyway, and I just moved the order around to fit the featured letters. For the AwardCats, I first checked my own TBR and if I didn't have a match, then I looked at my library wishlist. Occasionally I just randomly picked a book that fit the featured Award and in this way I I found some excellent reads. I had the most fun with finding a book to fit the RandomCats, again first checking my TBR's and then the library. I missed a couple of months but was fine with that, as Christina says each CAT isn't going to work for everybody all the time.

I love some of the suggestions for next year but would like to see the total CATS kept to three or four in order to avoid confusion and over-lapping. I also like it when the CATS are broad enough that the participant can make the CAT work for them - like a GeograpicCat that would designate an area and the books listed could be fiction or non-fiction reads.

My favorite ideas so far:

RandomCats
GeograpicCats
DeweyCats
and I still like the AwardCats but wouldn't mind if it was shelved for future use.

What I'd like to do (and I am by no means the boss of anything) is continue discussing possible topics and themes for a while yet. If any of you know someone who participated, or you think might participate next year, please let them know this discussion is going on.

Then, around late October, I'd like to vote on all the suggested CATs. We're not voting against any CAT, but rather voting on the CATs we'd most like to see next year. We can ask that no one vote for more than four, or whatever, but at the end we should have a clear idea of the three or four or five most popular CATs.

Does this sound like a plan? Anyone want to vote earlier or later? Fewer or more CATs?

Oh, and when you vote for a CAT, you're not promising anything. No guilt for not participating! Also, even if you really dislike a particular CAT, let it grow on you a little. We'll come up with something we can all feel happy with.

->61 RidgewayGirl:
Sounds like a good plan to me.

I agree with the voting idea but in the end I think three or maybe four CATS is all we need to have. But let's see how the discussion evolves.

sounds good!

@ 61 -- Works for me!

Good. We'll also have to decide how many CATs there should be. So think about that. We'll eventually vote, which is always fun.

And, personally, I loved the RandomCAT, and liked the AwardsCAT. The MysteryCAT sounds fun, with lots of potential, from different sub genres (police procedural, cozy, etc...) to authors (Allingham, Christie, etc...). But whatever we come up with will be awesome.

I'm impatient and want to vote NOW, damn it! But, I agree it's only fair to give everyone a chance to chime in. Still, I'd seriously like to start voting in early Oct, rather than late.

I don't think we should do more than 3 CATs. Keeping track of 3 different "rules" often got confusing and too much for me to handle. Having 4 would definitely be overwhelming. Besides, I like that if one book fits all 3 CATs we can celebrate getting a CAT-trick! Actually, though, I would be OK with only 2.

Looking forward to it.

Sandy, do we have to throw hats if someone gets a CAT-trick?

68> My felines would object to throwing cats.

#69 Well, I was going to suggest that we throw cats, but you have a good point. Maybe throwing hats would be better. We definitely don't throw books.

oh I dunno... I've been known to throw a few books at the wall now and again...

No doubt, some books deserve to be thrown. I was concerned for the walls. And the lamps - as I have terrible aim!

This discussion has been quiet for a while. Surely there are more people out there who have opinions about this, aren't there? It's much easier to vote after hearing ALL the ideas!

I agree. Tell your friends. Mention it on your threads. Let's make sure everyone knows!

I'd vote for HistoryCAT, GeographicCAT, GenreCAT, and RandomCAT for 2014.

I've not joined in the 2013, but I'm in for 2014. Do you have to start and finish a book within the month to count for the CATs?

I'm doing an alphabet challenge this year (and am wishing I hadn't - I'm finding it a little restricting) so wouldn't be keen on the AlphaCAT.

RandomCAT looks like fun and a good way to drag me out of my comfort zone a little. Always a good thing.

And I can see that GeographicCAT would be another good means of encouraging reading from different quarters.

However, I'm not sure how the genre or mystery CATs would work, so am ambivalent about them. I can't quite work out where the limits would be in those cases.

I would vote for: RandomCat, AwardCat, GenreCat, and MysteryCat.

I would vote for RandomCAT, AwardCAT, and GeographyCAT.

I like the idea of GeographyCAT and HistoryCAT!!

I have just found this discussion so thought I would join in. I agree that alphaCAT didn't really change my reading pattern, most the time I just fluked it. I found the awardsCAT a bit difficult for some reason. Often I find that award winning books are not the type of book I love. I did really enjoy the randomCAT. I liked that it was a surprise each month and we didn't find out until just before the month started.

I like the idea of a geographical CAT. I also like the history CAT. I don't know how well I would go in the mystery CAT though, but I would be willing to give it a go. That being said, mysteries are set in many different countries and at various points in history so if you were a mystery fan and the other options were chosen, you could still find a suitable mystery I guess.

I like the idea of the genre CAT too. That would really stretch me. I know the award CAT was genre based but it was very restricted within the genre.

I look forward to voting when everybody is ready.

I'll be away for the weekend, but I'll put up voting when I get back. Please spread the word, maybe mention this thread in your own 2013 threads?

Let's vote on what we want, counting only "yes" votes, and then we'll decide, based on that, how many to have next year. For those of you who have suggested CATs, or who especially like one idea or another, now would be a good time to talk about why you like specific CATs. Since CATs are optional, do we need to explain why we dislike a CAT? I'd rather just not participate in ones that didn't interest me, than prevent people from enjoying a theme. But if someone has a reason to not do one CAT or another, let us know.

Later we still have to choose logos, determine exactly how each CAT will work and figure out who will lead up each CAT.

I've really liked the CATs and enjoyed all three that we've had this year, even though I haven't been able to participate as much as I'd like. I definitely want to keep the RandomCATs but could change out the AlphaCATs and AwardsCATs for something else (at least for one year, they could always come back later!).

I really love the idea of a HistoryCAT and a GeoCAT. The other suggestions aren't quite my thing.

What are these CATs for a newbie who wasn't here last year? Felt foolish about asking earlier, and wanted to get at least one book written down to remember in each challenge before I started actively participating.

CATs are our entirely optional reading challenges. We take a theme or a category and come up with a special reading theme for each month. For example, in 2013, we had an AlphaCAT in which each month featured two letters (like I and V) and if you wanted to, you could read a book with one of those letters starting a word in the title or in the author's name or a character's name. It's just a fun way to mix up our reading, whether it's pulling out a dusty old book you'd always meant to read or reading something you hadn't previously considered.

The emphasis is on how optional they are. Some people participate in a particular CAT all year long, others take part when it interests them or they have a suitable book handy and others really challenge themselves to complete books in more than one CAT, or they find a book that fits more than one CAT for the month.

In essence, they're just a way for us to mix it up a little and to talk about books a little more.

My vote is still with Alpha and Random as they were excellent ways to push me to read books I already own. It was fun to see what would fit each month. Not really interested in Awards and am ambivalent about the others.

If there were a HistoryCAT I might participate. How's that for commitment?

Geography Cat would be my top pick. It's the one in which I'd be most likely to participate.

#81 I think we do need to talk about why we don't like a CAT. Yes, I can ignore a CAT I don't like, but if we allow every CAT that anyone wants, then we have watered down the challenge to a point where we may as well not even have it. I don't want to prevent others from reading something they enjoy - but we already can each read whatever we want, for any reason, with or without the CATs. If the majority of the group wants a specific CAT, then we will have it - even if I don't like the idea. But I think we need to limit the number of CATs we have.

Even though it is widely popular, I didn't like the RandomCAT very much because the themes were announced too late for me to plan my reading for the month. Since I mostly read from the public library, it seems to take an average of 30 days from the time I decide on a book until I actually begin reading. So for a theme announced on, say, the 25th of the previous month, I'm unlikely to be able to decide on a book, reserve it, check it out, allow it to rise to the top of the TBR pile, begin reading and actually finish before the end of the month. I'd be more likely to vote for a repeat of RandomCAT in 2014 if there is a way the themes can be announced in advance.

I have also not participated as much in RandomCAT. Why? I think it's mainly because I can't think of anything I'm wanting to read or locate something I can quickly access that is something on my TBR list that fits it. The AlphaCAT was easy to plan toward because we knew all year what letters would be which month. I sometimes put off something I wanted to read for a month or two so it would fit. As for the AwardsCAT, I just haven't had time to read through some of the lists, try to find something that is something that might interest me and which is available at one of my libraries. Yes, I know I had all year, but those lists take time to study, and I had other things I would rather be doing. Those things may be a factor in just about any challenge, but I do like Sandy's idea of being able to plan RandomCAT or any other challenge far in advance.

On the other hand, when threads start too far in advance, by the time the actual appropriate month rolls around, I've either read the book or lost interest. I like the spontaneity of it. I do know that means those who like to plan well ahead of time don't get to with this one CAT, but they are optional.

Of course, if everyone would like to know months in advance, that's fine. I just don't like to over plan. I know! Here I am forcing everyone to discuss next year's challenge and it's months away, but while I like to get the scaffolding up in a timely manner, I don't want us to make the beds and arrange the flowers so far ahead of time everything is dusty by the time we get there.

Perhaps we need to configure the CATs so we have some spontaneous and others plannable,

#91 I think that might have been the thinking behind the RandomCAT last year, actually. I'm not necessarily asking for all the monthly themes to be announced at the beginning of the year, but perhaps they could be done in quarterly groups.

I like the idea of some planned out in advance and one, at least, spontaneous.

Here's a challenge: http://publishingperspectives.com/2013/09/one-year-reading-a-book-from-every-nat...

->94 Robertgreaves:
Now, that is a challenge.

*scurries away having been reminded of a long-neglected Reading Globally thread* LOL!

Thanks!

I'm actually pretty easy to please, and very creative. I'm pretty sure I can come up with something to match the CATs that I'm interested, and competitive - mostly with myself - so I'd see if I could do them all year long.

> 94 - Great challenge idea and one I doublt I could ever complete in one year, even if I successfully located 196 really short books to fit it!

94>> I'm having enough trouble completing my European challenge in my lifetime and you want me to read the entire world in a year?!?!

At one country a month, it would only take 16 years ;-)

More realistically, I take the challenges here more as suggestions than challenges. They help me choose the next book from the TBR pile but if there isn't anything suitable, so be it.

Having said that, I found the alphabetical challenge the easiest and most useful. The random challenges are fun, trying to find something that fits. I didn't bother with the award challenge since unless it says so on the cover I have no idea what awards a book might have won. At one point a few years ago I did challenge myself to read at least one book by each year's Nobel Prize winner but I didn't get very far. It's surprising (or maybe not) how many of the early Nobel laureates are now completely forgotten and impossible to find.

I'm going to open a new thread for the voting. It will make it easier for people who haven't been participating in this discussion to be able to vote. I'll link back to the discussion here.

Please add anything I've forgotten and correct what I got wrong.

Here's the link to the voting thread.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/159571#

As for the RandomCat, perhaps we could do up a list of the challenges at the beginning of the year. It would make it easier to plan out the reading especially for people who get their books from the library

I think that the point of the RandomCAT is that it is spontaneous. It is posted before the beginning of the month to give people a chance to find an appropriate book. The point of it is that it can't be planned at the beginning of the year.

But don't worry, all the other proposed CATs will have everything set before the start of the Challenge. And CATs are optional. If you're a planner and have trouble fitting in something unplanned, you can skip this CAT and happily play with the others. There will be at least two that work for you.

I'm still not sure I understand how MysteryCAT and genreCAT would be organised. Can those who thought of them give some examples? It might help the decision.

And I'm struggling to see how genreCAT and awardsCAT would be significantly different - especially for those awards that are for writing in a specific genre. I understand the list part of the AwardsCat, but to have both would seem to be duplication.

Helen, We'll pick which CATs we want for next year. Probably we won't choose both GenreCAT and AwardCAT, but if we do, we'll play with them until they're different. A lot of the fine tuning won't happen until we find out which CATs we want. We will all get a say in how our CATs look -- and, from last year's experience, that ends up being different than they were originally conceived and the better for it.

I loved that the RandomCats were spontaneous, especially as the other two Cats we did last year were known in advance. There was an anticipation in waiting to see what the RandomCat would be. If we announced the RandomCat somewhere between the 10th and 15th of the prior month would that give people enough planning time?

Definitely, the earlier the random CAT is announced, the easier it would be to participate.

I'm WAY late weighing in, but I suppose I shall anyway now that I've read all these responses :)

I fell off on participating in any of the CATS in the second half of the year because a concussion in late July kept me mostly off librarything (an all sites, as much as possible) until late October, and by then I was so behind on reading and work that I didn't venture back as much as I would have liked. But, for what it's worth...

AlphaCat: I LOVED IT. Whether the group keeps it going or not, I'll likely do it again myself as it really helped me trim my TBR pile and discover some now loved works that I wouldn't have found otherwise.

AwardsCat: I fell off being interested in this one pretty quickly--I'm a bit jaded when it comes to what wins awards, and wasn't interested in all of the genres, but I did enjoy discovering some of the lists and reading in along the way.

RandomCat: I enjoyed this one too, though I only participated when it fit into my TBR pile and/or my schedule--I agree that announcing challenges by the 10th or 15th of the previous month would help a lot.

New Propositions:

Genre cats and Dewey Cat: I don't know how often I'd participate since I'd likely run into the same problem I had with the Awards Cat--I already read so widely that I'm not sure working to expand my reading areas is a worthwhile challenge to myself

GeographicalCat: I like the idea of this one, especially if we're including the geographic areas where authors are based/from, and not just the settings/subjects of the works.

HistoricalCat: Um, maybe? I'm curious how this would play out, so I'd at least peak in early on...

MysteryCat: I don't read many mysteries, so this probably wouldn't be up my alley. I love one...once in a while...but four or five a year is probably as far as I'd go because my tastes are so wide.

Anyhow, there's my long two-cents!

Welcome back, whitewavedarling! When you get a chance, take a look at the CATs over on the 2014 Category Challenge. January's CATs are already up. Look forward to seeing you there, participating as much or little as suits you.

A concussion sounds horrible. Were you able to read at all?

Hey RidgewayGirl--I'm already exploring! I wasn't able to read at all for a good three weeks, and it was about six weeks before I was back online--I actually even got stuck at my summerjob, a summer camp, because it was too far away from my home for me to drive home! In any case, I don't wish it on anyone, so here's hoping all LTers stay healthy this year!

I'm glad you're back on your feet!

On your feet and in your books!