 Greetings!
This special email is designed to explain our process for voting on next year's book selections. I hope that everyone will find this approach to be clear, and fair, and accommodating to all.
Nominating Books, and the PROPOSED BOOK List: Throughout the year, we have been publishing a Proposed Books List . This online webpage has the titles and links to information about the proposed books. I have mentioned this list frequently, and solicit new additions to it, and encourage members to keep checking back to review it.
The guidance for suggesting Proposed Books is as follows.
- You have read the book yourself and think that most people in the CCC Book Club would find something appealing in it.
- The book is "discussable": i.e., it is open to some interpretation, or focuses on a refreshing subject, or describes themes or characters that could be analyzed in various ways. (We do steer away from patently political or religious themes, however.)
- You are willing to serve as discussion leader for the book if it is chosen (barring, of course, unforeseen circumstances or unavoidable schedule conflicts). Leading is easy: Just be sure to show up on the proper night, turn on the lights, and get the discussion ball rolling. Our gregarious members will do the rest!
The cut-off point for adding books for consideration is Friday, November 4--so email me before that date, please, with any further suggestions. After that date, I will look at the list and make some final changes and cleanups, as needed. By this, I mean, if someone has suggested a generic series of books, or a particular author but not a specific book, I will have to remove this as an option.
At that point, we should have a clearly specific list of book titles and nominators, which I will circulate online and via email. I will circulate the list/email and announce that "voting is open" beginning Monday, November 7.
Please do not continue to suggest titles after that point, as doing so will only muddy the water.
Ways to Vote (TWO OPTIONS):
Option 1: Via Email. If you wish, you can email me back your selections. I will tally up the email votes. Make sure to email me back BEFORE Monday night, November 14 (see below). Option 2: In person at Special Voting Meeting on November 14. If you prefer to do so, you can come and vote in person on November 14. (This voting meeting would be in addition to our usual 4th Monday night discussion meeting on November 28.) On voting night, you can ask questions, or promote the selections you had on the list, or whatever. So feel free to attend this extra meeting, if you like. If you email vote, and then come in person on the 14th, your "in person" voting will override your earlier email vote.
To reiterate: Please do not use this meeting night to suggest new titles; additions at that point will not be considered. We must be fair, and all have access to one and the same list of proposed books.
We need 11 books for next year, so please choose your Top 12 -- in case a title is not widely available. In short, we'll pick 12 to "pad" the list, just in case.
Don't hesitate to call me with questions or for more info about the voting. I thank each of you for your interest in the CCC Book Club and very much appreciate your inputs and insights. Thanks,
Kathy S. Smith
813-962-2660 (home)
813-416-8453 (cell)
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