I found a discussion group at LibraryThing....

[alfreda89]

Lots of people are annoyed with Goodreads right now. I haven't had time to decide what I will do about any new policies (I don't think I have lost any reviews but haven't time to check. I am annoyed enough about politics--I don't need to find out that my review cache has been slashed.) But I am already over at LibraryThing*. I think of it as a place to categorize books, but since I have hundreds at Goodreads, I haven't duplicated it at LibraryThing. When I first found the system, it seemed complicated, the interface hard to read for my eyes damaged by illness.

And I didn't immediately spot any good discussion groups at LibraryThing. I found one today, doing the "looking for reviews" bit writers do when their books first come out. Sandstone78 has a topic and reading thread over there, talking about books I would be interested in reading. It was a happy chance that she read Night Calls and Kindred Rites long ago and enjoyed them.

"Book recommendation: Katharine Eliska Kimbriel's Night Calls has just been reissued in ebook, with a print version soon to follow. I have good memories of this book and its sequel, dark fantasies about a young witch on the American frontier learning to control her Gift and deal with the supernatural (a werewolf in the first book and a poltergeist in the second.) I was pleased to see that a third one is on the way sometime next Spring, and plan to re-read these soon, along with a first read of the author's related chapbook Wings of Morning."

A review doesn't have to be a page long to let others know you like a book. Part of why I review books is to let others know when I find something worth recommending. I so appreciate others who do the same.


* Yes, sadly, my books do need some love over there.

Comments

[martianmooncrab.livejournal.com]

I was following links at Goodreads,and a popup box came up, and normally I just close them. This question was if I would recommend Goodreads to anyone, and I chose No. They gave me another box asking why, and I clearly stated "Goodreads was bought by a company that I do not agree with, and therefore I will not support Goodreads" which I think covers it.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I am willing to see what Amazon does with this before I write it off, but their first salvo was ham-handed.

Vonda McIntyre dislikes Amazon so much she won't sell her ebooks there. That is a considerable financial hardship. I am in too much financial trouble, I can't draw that line in the sand. Small stores have not come up with a way to sell books for the midlist writers who have been squeezed out.

[sandstone78.livejournal.com]

Hello! I subscribe to your blog as well, it was quite a surprise to see my own username come up in my feed reader today. I'm very flattered that you mentioned me, thank you.

I would recommend both FantasyFans and The Green Dragon as discussion groups on LibraryThing. I actually just started my thread in The Green Dragon this month, and have found them to be a welcoming group. FantasyFans has a communal monthly "Where are you in Fantasyland?" thread and several really interesting topical discussions (often based around calls for recommendations, eg books with non-human female leads), and The Green Dragon seems from my experience so far to consist mostly of personal reading journals like mine you linked above- I've found the two groups complement each other well for my personal discussion tastes. There are so many people posting it can get difficult to follow, so I use LibraryThing's "star" function to keep track of threads I don't want to miss. I would love the opportunity to discuss books with you if you decide to join either of these groups!

My mother lent me her copy of Night Calls when I was in my early teens, and I read it through several times. We didn't find out about Kindred Rites until several years later, when I stumbled upon it online- it was already out of print, but we managed to find a copy in our local used bookstore. I eventually acquired my own copies of the pair, but also used- I am glad they are being re-released, one of my favorite things since getting an e-reader earlier this year has been finding so many authors making their backlist available, so I can not only recommend the books to others but also give authors money for books I've bought and enjoyed used.

I will make sure to post my thoughts about Night Calls in my reading journal topic once I re-read them! :)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Hi! :^)

I partly posted this so I could find you again when craziness leaves my life and I can go back to occasionally reading books for pleasure. Thank you for the recs of groups at LibraryThing, and clearly we must friend each other on LJ so posts are not missed.

Glad you liked the books, and glad you stopped by!

[blitheringpooks.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs to FantasyFans and The Green Dragon. I'll be tagging along with KEK!

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I just unpacked two more boxes of books!

Saving only the best ones....