Pros Reading Room anyone?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I was staring at the UK Paper Circuit copy of Waiting to Fall just now, and thinking back to our mammoth Read-a-long, and then thinking that it's been a while since we did a Pros Reading Room.

For anyone who's not seen it, the Pros Reading Room is a sort of get together to chat about a Pros story that we've all read at some point over the week before. I used to announce the new story on a Monday, then there'd be a review/introduction post on the Friday, and we'd chat about it over the weekend (or next week, or whenever people came back to it - this is lj, there's no time limit *g*)

We've taken it in turns to do the review/introduction posts before too - they can be as detailed or brief as someone likes, it's basically just to set us off and give us a post to add our comments to.

So... does anyone fancy a Pros story chat next weekend? Or the one after, or the one after that...? *g* We've had different ways of choosing stories before, but maybe this time we could just take the first suggestions made, and see if we can have a month of reading and chatting Pros fic together?

If you fancy joining in:
1 - Please reply to say so, cos it's nice to have something to look forward to!
2 - Suggest a Pros fic if you'd like to - not anything too long, so that everyone has time to read it. Oh, and something online, so everyone can get hold of it!
3 - Let me know if you fancy posting the review/introduction one week (I'm happy to do it if no one else wants to, but it's always nice to have other people post *g*)
4 - And... I think that's it. If someone suggests a fic for next week, then I'll announce it on Monday with a link to it, and then... we'll be off! I shall add the Friday dates below, and cross my fingers they might get filled. *g*

Friday 27th August - at A03 (Like Gravity) or at the Circuit (Like Gravity) by Halotolerant
Friday 3rd September - at Circuit (The Flat) or at Hatstand (The Flat) by DVS
Friday 10th September -
Friday 17th September -

ETA - and if no one can think of a specific Pros story to discuss, I'll Random one from the Circuit Archive. *g*

Comments

[ubicaritas9.livejournal.com]

"If you fancy joining in"... Yes, I do!
As a (relative) newbie to the fandom, and as someone who is just now realizing that perhaps I should make this comm a place I visit more often, I haven't been part of Pros Reading Room.
(comm? group? as you can tell I don't do lj regularly... haha. I'm only here because of Pros... but what a good reason it is!)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Oh excellent! *g* And yes — please do come and visit the comm more. Join! Post! *vbg*

And hee — Pros is an excellent reason to be anywhere!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I'm interested! At the very least I'll read the discussions and if I can contribute I will.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Perfect — that's all we ask! *vbg*

[jat-sapphire.livejournal.com]

1. Yes!
2. Nothing springs to mind.
3. I don't think I would be good at that.
4. Let's do it! Great idea!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

1. Yeay!
2. Fair enough. If no one has any thoughts I'll do a Random at the Circuit Archive. *g*
3. Again, fair enough. Not sure that I am either mind... *vbg*
4. Yeay and thrice yeay!

[tinturtle]

1) Sounds rad.
2) Perhaps Like Gravity (True Before We Knew About It) by halotolerant? I've been wanting to reread that, and it's probably a suitable length. Could be that all the non-baby fans have already read it as many times as they want to, though. Choosing something randomly from the Archive would be an adventure.
3) I think I could do that at some point, but not next week.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Excellent — and we have our fic for next week, thank you! *g* Lol for non-baby fans — we might define those differently. I still count myself as a baby Pros fan, cos I've only been around since 2005 or so, and Pros and Pros fans and writers have been around for nearly thirty years before that. *vbg* And there are thousands of fics out there, and only so many hours in the day, so... I think most people will probably be up for reading or even re-reading Like Gravity. *g*

And cool - just let me know whenever you fancy it! *g*

[tinturtle]

Lol for non-baby fans — we might define those differently. I still count myself as a baby Pros fan, cos I've only been around since 2005[.]

I think you can be considered a toddler fan now.

And there are thousands of fics out there, and only so many hours in the day, so... I think most people will probably be up for reading or even re-reading Like Gravity.

That's good. I decided it might be one that most people had already read because it has a high number of hits and kudos on AO3 relative to other Pros stories.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Argh, I just typed a long reply on my phone and then lost it!

Basically — A03 doesn't really work like that with Pros, because so many Prosfics are pre-A03 and just re-posted there. So some authors look like their stories have hardly any hits — but that's because they've already been read over and over in zines, or ProsLib, or the Circuit or Hatstand archives, or Auto Hatstand, or author websites... Or printed out and read and re-read on paper. More recent stories that were posted straight to A03, or where the authors jumped onto A03 earlier, seem to have many more readers and kudos, but they don't really. And that's all on top of A03 authors who boost their reads and kudos via links.

All of which is to say — reads and kudos on A03 might seem high for some fics, but don't necessarily mean one fic is more read than others. Basically, rec the fic you fancy reccing! *vbg*

[mizrychik62]

I'll play!
I'm game to be more active on (2) and (3) later on, but since it's my first Reading Room around here I'll need to see what it's like first :)

Afterthought: warnings on death fics at all times, right?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeay! And yeay for 2 and 3 later too — just let me know when you fancy it. *g*

Warnings are as per the info on the User Info page (https://ci5hq.livejournal.com/profile): "Please don't spoil stories for readers in any way - if you have spoiler information for a header or in a story discussion, then make sure it's hidden behind a cut. Note readers, however, that story discussions and reviews naturally have spoilers, and so if you go into a post then you may see these."

Basically — everybody gets to choose whether they want to be warned or spoilered for stories, so please don't put any information about warnings (including whether something's a death fic) where people are forced to see it. This basically means, put it under a cut or a spoiler cut, so that people can choose to look at it before they read the story or not. There's major history about this sort of thing here at ci5hq, and basically I will take down anything that doesn't comply. Everybody gets a choice — people who want warnings, but also people who don't want warnings.

Also, no — no one is forced to give warnings of any kind at this com. It's up to readers to check a story via the links given if they want to. For instance, Circuit Archive and the Hatstand both give warnings for people who want them, and it's easy to find them if you want them. At A03 it's left up to the author whether warnings are given and/or forced on readers, but again they're easy to find. So if you want warnings, you're very welcome to go and find them, but no one posting to this com is obliged to give warnings of any kind.

[mizrychik62]

Gotcha! All set then *rubs hands*

[ali15son.livejournal.com]

I will try my best to pop in as and when

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Excellent. *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I'm in. Wouldn't mind rereading DVS's The Flat (http://hatstand.slashcity.net/dvs/flat1.html).

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Excellent - I've added The Flat as our second read! *g*

[creedcascade.livejournal.com]

If you fancy joining in:
1 — Yes, please.
2 — I’ll have a thing.
3 — Sure if I find anything for #2.
4 — Huzzah!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Excellent! And I'm just finishing work for the night before I post about the first story! *g*

[jinkyo.livejournal.com]

1 - Yes
2 - I've nothing at this moment.
3 - Let me get my LJ legs under me, and some observational experience — but yeah, I'd be game later.
4 - Yay!!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yeay!

And I'm just finishing work tonight before posting for the first one! *g*