RTT 2016

In 2016 we are going to give something different a try. As we cover time periods in the quarterly threads, as agreed by the group and organised by Samantha_kathy, we have decided to focus on themes for our monthly reads. Each month will be hosted by a different group member. New members are welcome to put themselves forward as hosts for future months that have not yet been allocated. I will update this post with the hosts for the year as they become known.

The host gets to decide the theme for their allocated month. As many people in this group are planners, or get their books from the library it is useful to have some notice of what the theme is going to be to allow for books to come in. In light of this, threads should ideally be started 2 months before the reading month. For example, if you are hosting January, your thread would be put up around November 1st.

Samantha_kathy - January
Here is a link to the January theme

Roro8 - February
Here is a link to the February theme

Majkia - March
Here is a link to the March theme

DeltaQueen50 - April
Here is a link to the April theme

Cbl_tn - May

CurrerBell - June
Here is a link to the June theme

countrylife - July

cbfiske - August

Rosalita - September

tess_schoolmarm - October

If anybody else comes along and wants to do a month they can volunteer for one, otherwise we all go again. If you want to swap just put it out there. It sounds like we are all pretty flexible. I'm really looking forward to 2016 RTT!

Here are the links for the Quarterly time periods as well.

Here is a link to January-March 2016: Prehistory

Some questions to get a discussion started about themes and what we want as themes (broadly speaking) as a group:

How broad/small do we want the themes to be?

Do we only want "historical" themes (like industrialization or art & culture, or revolution) or do we also want more "general" themes mixed in (like love and spring)?

Would people like geographical regions as themes sometimes (like Asia)?

Should the themes only be focused on the story/plot or can it also be about other aspects of a book (like LGBT main character, or women authors, doorstoppers, book written originally in a language you don't speak)?

I would prefer historical themes mostly.

I would love to consider regions or countries as a theme, eg set in Italy.

As long as the theme has significance in history I think that would be fine. I think the topics should relate to the story, eg read a historical fiction book featuring musicians, or set in Ancient Greece, or read a historical mystery, or featuring a historically significant weather event. I would not really like it if it was something like read a book with a colour in the title, or read a book with an ugly cover.

If our themes are too broad, we could find ourselves struggling to find a new theme. So, rather than just mysteries do mysteries set in Italy. Rather than just Art & Culture, do A/C of China, etc.

Agree with Roro8 - I'd also prefer historical themes for this group. Also like cfk's input.

ETA: Since you're such a forgiving group, I'll throw my inexperienced hat in the ring to take a month, if needed.

>5 countrylife:, sounds good. I'll put you in for July if that's ok.

If it's okay with everyone, I'd be willing to volunteer for August.

I've got two themes in mind for January. One might be deemed too broad. The other one might be too specific...

I was originally thinking 'Women in Command' for January - meaning not just women who rule as queens, empresses, or other types of monarchs, but also a woman who is the boss of a company, captain of a pirate ship, abbess of a cloister, or in any other way holds the official authority. But this might be too broad.

My second idea was 'Read a historical novel with a character who is disabled' - with disabled being anything ranging from physical (deaf, blind, amputee, chronic illness) to psychological (PTSD, amnesia, schizophrenia). But that might be too specific.

So, I thought I'd just throw it into the group. Which one would you rather have in January?

As an aside, would anyone mind if I put the January thread up a little before November 1st? (once the topic has been decided)

>8 Samantha_kathy: Early is always good in my view!

Hmmm. I like both of those themes. Either one would work for me. I don't really see the women in command as all THAT broad (pun intended).

>8 Samantha_kathy: Personally I prefer "Women in Command," but "character who is disabled" isn't necessarily that narrow (unless you go by a strict definition of "historical" novel)....

The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Of Mice and Men
Johnny Got His Gun
The Black Dwarf (Walter Scott)
The Phantom of the Opera ("historical"?)
The Secret Garden ("historical"?)
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Sound and the Fury
Moby Dick
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
The First Man (Albert Camus, incomplete and posthumous)

I guess we can debate whether a novel is "historical" or not, but we've always been pretty generously broad in qualifying books within "themes" as "historical."

ETA: But if you're going to choose a "disabilities" theme, do you have to limit it to novels? I might want to include Harriet Martineau's memoir Life in the Sickroom.

>7 cbfiske:, I've added you in Carla.

>8 Samantha_kathy:, I would be happy with either topic Samantha. I'm more drawn to "Women in Command" but the disabled character could be quite interesting. I'm sure I'll find something for either one. They are both good suggestions.

I'd prefer a character is disabled, which woukd be the nudge I need to read the next Sir John Fielding mystery. I've had several in my TBR stash forever. Also, I'd like for nonfiction to be allowed each month. I often read nonfiction for this group and I'll be very disappointed if it takes on a fiction focus. I'd like for someone to be able to read a biography of Helen Keller or FDR if they want to (if disabilities is the focus for January).

>13 cbl_tn:, I also support your view that nonfiction is allowed. I just assumed it would be as it always has been in the past. Not that I read a lot of nonfiction but a couple of members here regularly do.

Before I joined so many other challenges, I made an effort to read one fiction and one nonfiction each month for RTT.

I like either theme for January, Samantha. In fact, I may file away whichever one doesn't get used for when it's my turn! ;)

I also totally agree that all our themes and/or time periods always include the option of either fiction or non-fiction.

I also like the idea that either fiction or non-fiction would qualify for our reads. As far as the category for January, either one would work for me. Both sound interesting.

>11 Roro8: Thanks, Roro8.

Yep, it's both fiction and non-fiction. I probably should have used the word book instead of novel, my bad :D

I do like Women in Command! Especially with such a broad spectrum.

I'll be putting the February thread up on Friday, when I have a day off work. I'll add a link on this thread when it is ready.

>20 Roro8: Looking forward to it.

Here is a link to the February theme

Here is a link to the June theme

Here is a link to the January theme

To make things easier, I have also included the above links in the opening post of this thread.

Here is a link to the March Theme: https://www.librarything.com/topic/206673

>25 Roro8: Thank you for putting the links up in the first post! And thanks to everyone who is hosting a month and doing all the work to get the monthly threads set up. I'm looking forward to my first year with the RTT group.

>27 rosalita:, you're welcome. If you decide you would also like to host a month you are most welcome to volunteer. There are still a few months available for 2016.

Here is a link to January-March 2016: Prehistory quarterly time period

Just to make things easy I have included this link in the first post as well.

I would like to volunteer for a month not yet taken....October, November?

>30 Tess_W:, Would you like Sept? You can have any month from September onwards. So if you prefer Oct or Nov that is fine. Let me know and I will add you in the opening post.

That will leave three more months to fill for the year. Maybe some more new volunteers would like to take one.

I could take one of the unfillled months. I'm not picky about which, so I'll let Ro decide for me based on what interest she's had from others.

>30 Tess_W:, do you have a preference for a particular month? I'll put you in for October for now but let me know if that doesn't suit.

>32 rosalita:' I'll pop you in for September.

That leaves November and December for 2016 for any other volunteers.

A good November theme might be U.S. Presidents and Presidential Elections. I've already got the June theme and I don't want to be greedy if someone else wants to take something, but if no one else does, then I'd be happy to double up and prepare that theme, which is appropriate to November 2016.

Oh, eep. Don't remind me! I'll be working 14 to 16 hour days, training polling workers, running a precinct and working early voting... Presidential elections are madness!

>34 CurrerBell: I think that's a great theme, and I certainly won't mind that it's your second one!

I have put up the April Reading Through Time Thread. It can be found HERE

>37 DeltaQueen50:, Thanks Judy. I have added the link in the opening post also.

>34 CurrerBell: >36 Samantha_kathy: This thread has been quiet recently so I wonder if we have any takers for November yet? If not, I'll step in and take a theme of U.S. Presidents, Veeps, and Elections (which is a little broader than I set at >34 CurrerBell:). This could include

... biographies (including "campaign biographies," of which Nathaniel Hawthorne did service for his college classmate and BFF Franklin Pierce, which got Hawthorne the U.S. consulship in Liverpool, possibly the top patronage job in the entire federal government);

... memoirs (oodles of these, and they could include pre-presidential career, for example, the war memoir of Ulysses S. Grant);

... historical fiction (Burr, Lincoln, and perhaps some others in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire);

... drama (again for Vidal, The Best Man, though I've only seen the movie and haven't read the actual play);

... a candidate's own non-memoir writings (Kennedy's Profiles in Courage, Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative).

Definitely checking in before I start work on a page, though, because I don't want to be greedy if anyone else who hasn't picked something yet would like to.

If this is acceptable, could >1 Roro8: add me to the opening post?

>39 CurrerBell:, can we consider maybe world political leaders, rather than a US focus? Could that still work with what you have in mind?

>40 Roro8: Sure, if that's what folks want. I'm going to stick to the US focus myself because of the presidential election (and because I really want to do some ROOTing on Gore Vidal), but all I'm trying to do for November is facilitate what everyone else wants since I've already had my choice on School Days School Days for June.

Maybe someone can help me out, make some suggestions that would reference world leaders to expand on what I've included in >39 CurrerBell:? Then I can get a page designed for November.

>41 CurrerBell: You could call the thread "World Leaders and Elections" which would broaden the theme. Personally, although I am a Canadian, I would probably stay with the focus on the U.S.A. and read a bio about one of the past presidents.

I'm sure that many of us have experienced the problem that LT seems to be having with editing the Wiki's. Apparently they are working on it and hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Just an update on our current monthly themes:

October: Tess_schoolmarm has let me know that she will not be able to host the October thread this year. Anyone want to host this month?

November: I believe CurrierBell is scheduled for November with Presidents, Veeps & Elections

December: Is still open - any volunteers?

Looks like someone is also needed to take over the Quarterly Themes.

I have been a very poor participant this year. I make plans for what to read but don't follow through. If we are lacking a volunteer for October and December I can take one. However I would feel better about it if a more active 2016 participant took it on (feeling like I've been a bit slack).

As >45 Familyhistorian: says, we are in need of someone to take over the Quarterly Threads as Samantha_Kathy will be too busy to continue on this year. If you are interested in this, please let us know either here or over at the current Quarterly Thread.

>46 Roro8: Ro, I will leave this up for a bit and then if there are no takers I will take whatever month you don't want.

>ok, good plan

I confess to having been horrible with regarding reading stuff for RTT. I'm stuck in sci fi mode at the moment. But I'd be willing to take over the quarterly stuff, if no one else wants it.

I can't guarantee I'll read something for it very often, but I don't mind doing the wiki and posting the thread. Did she post one every month, or just one for the entire quarter?

>49 majkia: Thanks so much, Jean. One thread per quarter is how Samantha_Kathy has been doing it. So four threads per year. Currently the period is "Arthurian Times" which will run till the end of September and then, I believe the next one is meant to be "Medieval Times". Of course, it's your baby now and you can set it up however you choose to. :)

The October theme has been posted.

I have lost the October theme thread. Can someone please post a link.

>52 Familyhistorian: Here you go: http://www.librarything.com/topic/231871

>53 majkia: Thanks Jean. I couldn't have found it without your help. All my tried and true methods didn't work.

Just letting everybody know there has been a thread started to discuss our thoughts for next year. It can be found here