2019 CATs planning thread

Suggest some CATs for next year! These can be returning favourites, or new ideas. I'll keep a list in this post of ideas and the number of the post where the idea is first proposed, in case you want more information about it.

PROPOSED CATS

LocationCAT >2 majkia:
ClassicCAT (previously proposed CAT) >3 Helenliz:
NewsCAT >4 Jackie_K:
RandomCAT (return) >6 RidgewayGirl:
CalendarCAT (previously proposed CAT) >8 VivienneR:
YoungCAT (kids and teen books) (previously proposed CAT) >11 seascape:
CoverCAT >15 sturlington:
AwardsCAT (return) >22 dudes22:
VictorianCAT >23 Tess_W:
GothicCAT >23 Tess_W:
BiogCAT (previously proposed CAT) >29 cyderry:
SeriesCAT >34 LibraryCin:
HistoryCAT (return) >41 Robertgreaves:
NumberCAT >44 mathgirl40:
CAT in Translation >53 Kristelh:
CharacterCAT >62 whitewavedarling:
MysteryCAT (return) >71 LadyoftheLodge:
TBRCAT >82 RidgewayGirl:

You have until October 18 at midnight EDT to suggest CATs.

Voting will open on October 19 and will close on November 9 at midnight EST.

Edit October 19: the voting thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/297720

I've been trying to come up with a fairly simple CAT that uses environment/locale. I was thinking of months for settings like:
Big city
Suburbs
Small Town
Lush Countryside
Mountains
Desert
Islands
Jungle
Shore/Beach
Forest
Prairie/Savanna
Arctic

I'd like to propose a CAT where we read the classics. ClassiCat, who would be a very sleek, black cat, I think. The group reads of Don Quixote, Forsyte Saga and Robinson Crusoe got me through those more easily than I think I'd have managed on my own. They are often not the easiest, so some company helps them got a bit more smoothly

We could arrange this a number of ways, which would be up for discussion. It could be by selecting an author or two each month, or by choosing a time frame in which the works were produced, or maybe by selecting titles in a related theme each month.

I seem to remember after the Ripped from the Headlines month in this year's RandomCAT that quite a few people suggested that as a CAT. Initially I thought it might be a bit too similar to last year's CultureCAT (not that I'd be bothered by that, I loved CultureCAT), but thinking some more I wondered if it would be possible to theme a challenge around categories found within newspapers. For example, politics, foreign affairs, finance, sport, celebrity/entertainment, cooking, cartoons, etc. I'm sure we could come up with 12 categories that would work.

I also like the suggestions in >2 majkia:. (and >3 Helenliz:, but as classics basically feature in one of my own standing categories, I can live without them being a CAT).

All of these are great ideas! I've come up with shorthands for them and put them in >1 rabbitprincess:, with a link to the post where they've been proposed.

If you'd like me to change the shorthands, just let me know!

>4 Jackie_K: Jackie, I've been thinking about that one, too. I'm going to ponder possible formats that would allow both responsiveness to what's going on in the world at the time and still allows for some advance planning for the people who like to plan ahead.

I'd like to propose a return of the RandomCAT. It's always my favorite one.

>6 RidgewayGirl: I second your RandomCAT proposal. It's my favourite too!

CalendarCAT was one Kristelh suggested back in 2016 for 2017. It didn't make the cut so I used it for a personal category that I enjoyed. It is challenging yet has enough variety that most people can fit with their reading. This is the list of examples Kristel used:

January... New, New to you, Chinese New Year, World Religion Day, Black History Month
February...Romance, Mexico History, President and rulers
March...Leprechauns (magic), Roman History (Ides of March), Irish themes, Pagan themes, Spring/Equinox
April...Fools, Earth day so Evironment issues, Jewish themes
May...Mother's, WWI or wars
June...Fathers, Solstice/Pagan themes, marriages, weddings
July..."I forgot", Independence, Bastille Day (French themes), Health and Happiness themes
August...Heroes, Girlfriend Day, Minority
September...Work/Labor, History of labor Movement, Journalism, Grandparents, Police/Firemen,
October...Horror, Exploration or Spain
November...War, Soldiers, Thanksgiving
December...Christmas/Boxing Day, African, Kwanzaa

I'm repeating the CalendarCAT suggestion for 2019.

>6 RidgewayGirl: Yes, I think the advantage of a NewsCAT would be that it would be very easy to include both historical/already published stuff and be responsive to issues going on in the world in the here and now. I absolutely loved the RandomCAT Ripped from the Headlines month, it was a stroke of genius on your part!

I like the CalendarCAT, and the RandomCAT.

Hi, I'm Dee, and I've only been in LibraryThing for a short time, and I was looking for a new group to join, so I can help with ideas, etc. Your CAT suggestions, sound really amazing, and I would definitely love to be a part of them. I sometimes read children's and teen/ya books, and I was wondering if we could maybe add KiddieCAT or TeenCAT, as a suggestion. I have quite a few of that genre on my book shelves, at the moment, and need an excuse to read them.

Welcome Dee! Hope you enjoy our group. Good ideas. ;)

>11 seascape: Welcome aboard! Glad you joined us early on while we're figuring out the group challenges :)

It appears as if several of the ideas suggested are repeats from earlier years. Classics CAT and YoungCAT (for YA lit) were on last year's ballot (i.e. for 2018). CalendarCAT and YACAT (for YA and Children's lit) were on the ballot for 2017. Of course, RandomCAT has successfully been on many ballots.

>1 rabbitprincess:, >3 Helenliz: I'm glad to see the ClassicsCAT suggested this year. Last year it barely missed becoming a CAT, with 24 votes in favor of it. MysteryCAT and ColourCAT had 25 votes each, well behind RandomCAT with 35. There was discussion about having a round-off or having 4 CATS (the number we had in 2017), but in the end the top 3 CATS were accepted without any further voting, etc.

For the record, I'd like ClassicsCAT and YoungCAT also listed in message 1 as a previously proposed CATs.
I think it is helpful to know what has been on the ballot before since it shows previous interest, and that the listing should be consistent.

>11 seascape: Thanks for sending your suggestion, Dee. I hope that you will enjoy participating in the challenge..

As one of my reading goals for next year is to read books when I first buy/hear about them, I think NewsCAT or possibly CalendarCAT could support that. I do tend to get interested in books when I hear about the subjects in the world, but by the time they float up to the top of my TBR, I forgot why I picked them up in the first place!

I didn't participate in the ColorCAT this year, and I think I may have missed out. I'd like to suggest something similar: CoverCAT. I've noticed a lot of similar themes across covers on my TBR books, like trees/flowers, water, women, sky, cities, houses, just words, etc. Like the ColorCAT, I think the monthly theme could be extended to the title or even the author name for more versatility.

>14 sallylou61: Done!

This year for the voting I was thinking of doing a yes/no/maybe poll rather than the simple yes/no question from last year. We could then assign 1 pt for each Yes vote, 0.5 pt for each Maybe vote, and 0 pts for each No vote. Total up the points, the ones with the most points are the 3 CATs. In the event of a tie, we'd tiebreak by number of yes votes.

Or we can say the 3 with the most yes votes are the CATs and use the maybe votes as the tiebreaker. What do you all think?

I'm typing on my phone so I hope there aren't too many typos ;)

I like the latter idea of the top three yes votes getting confirmed as the CATS, and the maybes being used as tiebreakers.

I know last year you used Survey Monkey which was very efficient but I wasn't able to see the progress of the voting or change my vote(s) if I wanted to. Are you going to use SM again or are you considering using the LT poll? (Also, please note, not a big deal for me if you do decide to use SM again.) :-)

>17 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Probably the LT poll :)

Thanks guys:)

>16 rabbitprincess: . Thanks for so quickly adding the Previously proposed CAT to the list for those which were previously proposed.

Thanks also for sharing with us your ideas for the method of voting. I agree with >17 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Tanya-dogearedcopy to use the top yes votes as the winning CATS although I prefer not determining the exact number of cats until the voting is completed. I feel that if the vote is very close between the third and fourth choices (only 1 or 2 votes apart) that 4 CATS is fairer than being inflexible about 3 CATS, especially if there is a larger gap with the rest of the voting. I really felt cheated several years ago when WomanCAT lost by one or two votes; that was voted in as CATWoman for 2017 -- the year we had 4 CATS since the fourth choice, CultureCAT was very close in the voting. ClassicsCAT lost by one vote for 2018; there was one vote difference for the second/third tie and the fourth place vote. All CATS and KITS are optional; nobody needs to read anything for a CAT they are not interested in.

I prefer not counting the maybes in the voting, even as a tie-breaker. Maybe would not be an enthusiastic vote; it would be neutral instead of positive. If we end up with numerous CATS (not 3 or 4) being within a point or two of each other, I would prefer a run-off vote to counting neutral votes.

Thanks for opening this discussion.

> 16 - I like the yes/no/maybe poll idea. Always nice to mix things up a bit.

As for the cats - I have no suggestions at this point, but I love the ideas being put forward so far!

It's been 5 years since we did the Awards Cat (2013) which I think stretched my reading. So I'm going to suggest we throw that back into the mix.

How about a Victorian CAT or Gothic CAT (genres)?

>23 Tess_W: Could you elaborate on what categories you might envision for those?

>22 dudes22: . There was an awards cat also in 2017 with the following categories:

January -- Year's Best lists and Costa Book Award -- hosted by DeltaQueen50
February -- Canada Reads competition and The Morning News Tournament of Books -- hosted by RidgewayGirl
March -- The Newbery and Caldecott medals and other Genre Awards (any genre prize not already featured) -- hosted by cbl_tn
April -- International Dublin Literary Award and the Pulitzer Prize -- hosted by luvamystery65
May -- Man Booker International Prize and the Edgar Awards -- hosted by jonesli
June -- The PEN Literary Awards and the National Book Award (USA) -- hosted by clue
July -- Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and any Science Fiction/Fantasy award -- hosted by sturlington
August -- Miles Franklin Award and the Stonewall Book Award -- hoisted by LisaMorr
September -- Man Booker Prize and O. Henry Award -- hosted by Kristelh
October -- Nobel Prize for Literature and the Giller Prize -- hosted by rabbitprincess
November -- Local Awards (a regional prize of your choice) -- hosted by Chrischi_HH
December -- International awards (a prize from a country you aren't living in) -- hosted by Kistelh
Reply

However, that is no reason not to have it suggested again. Several years ago we had the GeoCAT with relatively little time between them.

I am NOT suggesting to do the GeoCAT again.

>24 sturlington:
Victorian Lit: prose, poetry, drama, children's lit, nature writing, mannerism, etc.
Gothic lit: medieval precursors, parody, castles or mansions, New Gothic, Southern Gothic, Modern Horror, etc.

I like the idea of an AwardsCAT.

I'd like an AwardsCAT again, too.

>26 Tess_W: Can you give examples for the categories you've raised for Victorian Lit? I get that something like Black Beauty would work for children's lit, but what would be good fits for mannerism or nature writing? I do like a Victorian novel and would jump in on months with an interesting topic. Maybe "modern Victorian" (The Essex Serpent, The Luminaries) could also be included.

I believe we had a BIO Cat suggested once before.

Each month we could read a different type of person whether male or female

For instance:
World Leader
Religious Figure
Celebrity
Historical
Heroes
Artist
writer
musician
designer
inventor
explorer
scientist
innovator

>29 cyderry: We did it in 2015 as a Kit, but there wasn't a lot of participation.

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2015_BioKIT

I am loving all these suggestions and already know that voting is going to be difficult for me. I know that I usually find that the more open the challenge is, the easier it is for me to participate. With that in mind, I am really liking the idea of LocationCat, RandomCat, and CalenderCat but I always love to see a version of AwardsCat being considered as well.

OK, I think I've got all the suggestions up top. Let me know if I've missed anything.

>20 sallylou61: Yes, that's a good point. I'd forgotten that we had four CATs in 2017.

>30 MarthaJeanne: maybe different monthly categories would generate more interest.

Personally, I read biographies and have several waiting to be read but these topics below in 2015 wouldn't have gotten me to participate. Some seem more fitted for a GEOCAT (France and Caribbean) or a HistoryCAT (Post WWII Britain, Military, Civil Rights) IMHO

January - Medicine
February - Post WWII Britain
March - Poverty
April - Medieval England
May - Religious Leaders
June - Murder Victims
July - France
August - Caribbean
September - Military
October - Afro-Americans
November - Literary Autobiography
December - Civil Rights

I see someone already mentioned one of the ones I suggest every year "YoungCAT".

I'd also like to suggest a "SeriesCAT". (Also previously suggested.)

>16 rabbitprincess: Or we can say the 3 with the most yes votes are the CATs and use the maybe votes as the tiebreaker. What do you all think?

I think this might be a good way to go.

>20 sallylou61: 4 CATS is fairer than being inflexible about 3 CATS, especially if there is a larger gap with the rest of the voting.

Keep in mind that anyone can take the 4th place one (or any other one!) and make it a KIT, as well!

>22 dudes22: I thought we brought back the AwardsCAT again in 2016? I'm sure it came back recently. That's not to say we couldn't do it again, just wanted to mention...

ETA: I see >25 sallylou61: mentioned we had it again in 2017. I was close!

>37 LibraryCin: In 2017, yes. I'd totally forgotten, despite hosting one of the months...!

Whoops, we cross-posted!

>29 cyderry: There was one year we ended up doing a BioKIT when it wasn't voted in, but I can't recall the categories.

ETA: I see >30 MarthaJeanne: found the BioKIT and linked to it! I participated! I was one of the few. I was really excited about it!

>33 cyderry: I feel like your suggestions in >29 cyderry: are broader. I'm sure, once upon a time, I suggested it, and was thinking along those lines, as well. Or, I like history, too, so I might have been thinking a mix of what they do along with some timelines or events.

Some time ago now we had a HistoryCAT with a theme or a period for each month. I'd quite like that one again.

>8 VivienneR: It's a very Americo-centric list. Independence and WWI could be in August, Mothers could be March or December. Spring could be September. Black History could be October.

>28 RidgewayGirl: Victorian Novels focusing on manners: Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence, etc. there are many Victorian writings on nature: Audobon, Bewick, Jeffries, to name a few

I thought I wouldn't like the ColorCAT when it was proposed, given that the books didn't match a specific theme but were instead chosen for a rather arbitrary characteristic. However, I've been really enjoying the challenge of finding books for it.

So along the same lines, I'll propose a NumberCAT. For example, for the number 3, you could choose a book that is the third in a series, with 3 in the title, with 3 main characters, set in March or in a year containing a 3.

We did a diversity read each month over at Reading1001 (GR group), it has been well liked. That would work here as well.
They could be anything that the group decided here but so far this is what we read
January: religious and spiritual diversity
February: Black History
March: Women’s History
April: Holocaust Rememberance Month/Jewish Awareness Month
May: Asians Pacific Heritage Month
June: Pride month
July: Arab voices
August: generational voices
September: Hispanic Heritage Month
October: Mental Illness Awareness month
November:
December:

Of course we could discuss these, keep or change them to fit our desires. It really is similar to CultureCat though.

>41 Robertgreaves: I loved the HistoryCAT!

>45 Kristelh: I like that idea.

>45 Kristelh: These categories seem to be very US-based.

>48 MarthaJeanne:. Do you think so? These were not what we would have to use. It is what had been used by our group so only used as example. We would be free to choose what ever we want.

The mental health day is a World Health Organization thing
The Spanish One is a South American things (not US).
The Holocaust day is international.
Every place has generations.

I thought the black history one was the most US centric of all the categories.

>49 Kristelh: And there's no reason not to rename February as Voices of the African Diaspora in order to make it more globally applicable.

>48 MarthaJeanne: I had the same reaction. Maybe just me interpreting things too narrowly, but Black History registered as Black American History. Same for Hispanic Heritage which translated to Americans with Hispanic Heritage, rather than Latin American.

I liked the CultureCat in 2017, which had many diversity topics.

Another idea that just came to me is a Cat in translation. Might be fun.

>53 Kristelh: I was thinking of a linguistic diversity month for the diversity category. Endangered languages, books in translation, books exploring being a member of a linguistic minority.

Have we ever considered a Birthday CAT? That is, read a book by an author born in this month?

>8 VivienneR: something to add to the thinking of the CalendarCat - could we combine those "events" on both the International Days observed by the UN (http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/ ) and the National Days (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/january-overview/ ) so that people would have a wide variety to choose from?

>56 cyderry: It would be fun and interesting to see what people would choose from all the topics inspired by International Days. I myself might feel challenged to find a book to celebrate World Tuna Day (maybe not a cookbook, though).

ETA The CalendarCAT could also be left open to what each reader associates with that month. For instance, I might read books associated with my birthday in December, since that's when my birthday is. The host could suggest some ideas but the choice is individual. Months are also associated with birthstones, numbers, flowers, historical anniversaries, as well as observances.

Just wanted to say that I've created a 2019 BingoDOG thread, if anyone is interested! http://www.librarything.com/topic/297102

Glad to see everyone so into plots and plans and threads! I'm currently in Canada (Saskatewan) in the middle of nowhere, with extremely limited internet. Once we get back to the states Friday or Saturday, I'll be more involved rather than just cheering you all on.

And I will volunteer to help with any wikis for any threads once we get things decided.

Enjoy all.

>59 majkia: Hope you're having a great trip! We will certainly appreciate your help with the wikis :)

Sometimes I read so many things for challenges this year I felt I wasn't getting to enough stuff I really wanted to read. I probably won't participate regularly in any of the currently proposed CATS. None appeal to me enough to want to commit to them. If something I read or is on my to be read list happens to fit, I might join in.

I really like the idea of the location cat and the number cat, as well as the series cat. And, of course, I love the randomcat :)

I also like the cover cat idea--but, then again, I've used that to guide my personal reading (basing categories on types of things in the covers) more than once, and I'm using it this year--I was just today searching through my TBR to find covers with windows and/or numbers on them so I can make sure to get my last categories complete!

The only idea I might add would be a twist on biocat--something we could maybe call a Character Cat? Each month, picking some known figure (political, celebrity, athlete, activist, scientist, etc.) to outline, and then running with some aspect of that character in order to choose reading. So, for instance, having a month inspired by/dedicated to someone like Benazir Bhutto. Participants could choose any book intersecting with some aspect of her bio/character, whether that meant reading Her book, reading something (nonfiction or fiction) related to Pakistan, Islam, exile, etc. This could be a challenge that would cater to readers of fiction and nonfiction, and it would be easy to make it non-US centric.

>62 whitewavedarling: I love your character cat idea! I'd been thinking about the biocat, and while I love memoirs, I tend to have to be in the mood for them, so it would be nice to have the option to go for related fiction if the mood wasn't there.

You've also got me wondering how many books I might have with windows on the cover.

>63 virginiahomeschooler:, lol. I have plenty of books with windows, not so many with doors! I'm like you--I like occasional memoirs, but I Really have to be in the mood. I always have good intentions when it comes to the nonfiction-based cats, but I rarely end up completing books for more than 2 or 3 months.

>62 whitewavedarling: I love the idea of a Character Cat! This could bring in those of us who loved Culture Cat or are interested in News Cat.

I am also a fan of Random Cat. The surprise each month is the fun of it for me. This year I was surprised to really enjoy the mystery cat which broadened my understanding of that genre. I read books I wouldn't have read otherwise. The color cat was surprisingly fun and I chose only from my TBR. For 2019 I am already intrigued by more than we can vote for! Location, News, Calendar, Number and Character if that goes forward.
>61 thornton37814: I struggle to give myself permission to skip a few monthly cats in order to fit in some must reads. Every year when I get to fall I think about not doing challenges the next year, but I get "sucked in" by the fun. I'm working on letting myself do it my way without feeling pressure to be a completist. I did better this year than the two previous. Working towards balance ;-)

If anyone is interested in a challenge much like the previous HistoryCat, come on over to The Reading Through Time Challenge at http://www.librarything.com/groups/readingthroughtime. We have two formats to pick and choose from. Quarterly challenges that concentrate on a specific time period and monthly challenges that are run much like the Cats here with a host for each month and that host picking the theme for the month. Our current monthly theme is Old MacDonald Had a Farm, with science planned for November and music for December. We are also in the early stages of planning for next year so you can get in on the ground level. All are welcome!

We are not planning to put forth the ScaredyKIT as a full-blown CAT this year, but will instead run it as a fun, low-pressure KIT. Each volunteer host will choose their month's topic. If you'd like to participate, come to our planning thread, here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/297211

>62 whitewavedarling: I love the idea for characterCAT with intersecting possibilities. While I won't normally read a bio ro autobio; I would read something related.

>62 whitewavedarling: I like the idea of opening up the Biography Cat to include fictional examples of the character types. While I enjoy some biography, even I feel that 1 a month would be rather more than I'd be prepared to try for. This is a good alternative.

>42 Robertgreaves: Yes, I realized that after I posted (I just copied an old posting) when I noticed July should have included Canada.

>56 cyderry: That's a really good idea!

I really like MysteryCAT, can we do that one again?

>71 LadyoftheLodge: It can certainly be proposed, although no promises! If it doesn't make the cut, there's also the option of making it a KIT.

>57 sturlington: Good idea. Those of us not in the US could include our own local events. November - Melbourne Cup (horse race), October - AFL Grand Final (football), April - Comedy Festival.

Just as an example, these were the dates I used in my calendar challenge (last year?). It was fun to look for days that could be related to books. We could just go by the month and leave the reading choices to participants. Or, it could be organized to be a bit more challenging according to the host.

Jan 25: Burns Night (I read Scottish author, Ian Rankin)
Feb 14: Valentine’s Day
Mar 8: International Women’s Day
Mar 1: St David’s Day
Apr 1: April Fool’s Day
Apr 2: Intl. Children’s Book Day
May 8: VE Day
May 24: Commonwealth Day
Jun 6: D-Day
Jun 17: Icelandic Day
Jul 1: Canada Day
Jul 4: Birthday
Aug 1: Yorkshire Day
Aug 7: BC Day
Aug 12: Intl. Youth Day
Sep: Labour Day
Sep 21: International Peace Day
Sep 26: Euro Day of Languages
Oct 5: Full Moon
Oct 29: National Cat Day (US)
Oct 31: Hallowe’en
Nov 5: Guy Fawkes Day
Nov 11: Remembrance Day
Nov 30: St Andrew’s Day
Dec 10: Human Rights Day
Dec 25: Christmas

A reminder that you have until October 18 (that's next Thursday) to suggest CATs. Voting will begin on October 19.

We have a pretty healthy batch of candidates, so this is also a good time to (continue to) provide examples of topics that these CATs might cover in each month :)

I'm unclear on what a series cat might look like.

Ummm, I did suggest doing HistoryCAT again ( >41 Robertgreaves: ) but it doesn't seem to have been added to the list of possibilities.

>76 majkia: For series, just off the top of my head, I'd picture things like YA series, mystery series... I guess dividing up each month for a series from a different genre? That's how I would picture it, anyway. Maybe others have other ideas.

>76 majkia:, I wasn't the one who proposed it in past year(s), but if I remember right, one set-up was via genre as >78 LibraryCin: suggested, and another was more general... For instance, 'a series that's new to you', 'a series you've been meaning to get back to', 'a series by a favorite author', 'a series with a female protagonist', 'the newest book in a favorite series', etc. Listing those out, those seem Really general, but I've only got a vague memory of it...

>77 Robertgreaves: my suggestion was not added either. Maybe because it was not popular.

>77 Robertgreaves: >80 Kristelh: I think I've got them now.

How about a TBRCAT? With prompts designed to give a few of those books that have been languishing on shelves or in stacks the attention they deserve?

Themes could be things like, "book that I keep looking at, but never manage to open," "First in, last out - read one of the oldest members of your tbr," or "book given to me as a gift." That sort of thing.

>82 RidgewayGirl: Ha, I love this theme! If it's chosen, might I suggest the theme, "Book originally started or acquired for an LT group read"? :)

>83 mathgirl40: Perfect! And also "book purchased with great excitement and with plans to read right away that is somehow still on my tbr a year later."

I *love* the TBRCat idea!

Woo Hoo, that TBRCat sounds like a great way to whittle my stacks down!

>84 RidgewayGirl: That's practically all of my TBR pile...!

>82 RidgewayGirl: Great idea! I had a funny thing happen last week. A friend gave me a new book as a gift and the reason she chose that particular book was because she saw that I already had 2 books by that author so I must like him. Actually I hadn't read either of them. But, now that I have three....I guess I'd better get to them.

I like this one a lot too. I had a funny thing happen this last week. A friend gave me a recently released book for a gift. She said she had chosen that author because she had seen I have 2 of his books and must like him. You guessed it, I haven't read either of them!

>82 RidgewayGirl: >83 mathgirl40: I could read dozens for such a prompt. Great idea!

Sounds like some people in this group need to join ROOTs--Reading Our Own Tomes group. This group helps lots of readers get to the TBR pile.

>91 LadyoftheLodge: Yeah, but the ROOTS group is primarily focused on numbers of books read (hence the tickers.) A CAT challenge might be good with its monthly focus within our stacks

The vast majority of the books I read are off my TBR pile. But that doesn't mean a CAT wouldn't help me out there. Just as AlphaKIT helps me choose from my TBRs.

I really try to read off my TBR pile, ROOTS keeps me focused on that, ALPHAKit helps me choose which book this month, but a TBRCAT could help as well.

I need all the help I can get!

>94 cyderry: That's how I see it too! Nearly all of my books read are from the TBR pile, and I use the ROOTs group for focus and numbers, and the Category Challenge/CATs/etc to order which ones I read next. A TBR CAT would be an additional help :)

>94 cyderry: >95 Jackie_K: A three-pronged attack, so to speak? Good idea.

The nomination period for CATs is now CLOSED.

We have 18 suggestions in >1 rabbitprincess:. I'll create a separate voting thread, which I will link to below.

>97 rabbitprincess: . Thanks for establishing a separate thread for voting.

The voting period is now OPEN. See here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/297720

The voting period will close on November 9 at midnight EST.

I can't see any description of how the translation CAT might work. It was proposed very briefly in >53 Kristelh:. Can someone expand on their thoughts?

>100 Helenliz: It was a whim that I just threw out. No thought to it at all. I really had suggested DiversityCat challenge but that was not included and was felt to be too USA centric so I just said; how about CAT in translation (would be books written in different languages but available in English).

>100 Helenliz: >101 Kristelh: I'm one of the people that voted yes to TranslationCAT, as I'm keen to expand my reading of non-Anglo books. I suppose it could be done regionally, or by genre (my preference personally would be regionally, as I'm not a big genre reader, and think regional could be more flexible).

>102 Jackie_K: How would a TranslationCAT based on regions differ from a GeoCAT with the proviso that one reads books from the country rather than just set there?

There are some languages spoken in different regions such as French or Spanish but there's not many of them. I think more non fiction in our challenges generally would be a good idea. Perhaps we could work in some non fiction into the genres, so crime novels or true crime or crime related topics in translation.

>103 Robertgreaves: That would work for me, Robert! I did think a regional thing might be a bit GeoCATtish (not a bad thing in my view, but I know we've had that a couple of times in the last few years already). I think I could have a fairly good go at finding books related to various regions, but I'm always up for more non-fiction so genre might be the way to go. :)

We could go by the original language for the TranslationCAT for some of the months - a book originally written in Spanish, for example, and other months could have location themes like the Caribbean, or topical themes like mysteries or YA or natural disasters. There are lots of possible options and it might be fun to mix it up so that most people can find a month or two that looks like it would be fun.

I'm interested in reading more books in translation, but I'm not very interested in something that's genre driven. Undecided on that one then.

I voted for the translation CAT because I read a lot of books in translation. How about some prize winners in translation? Nobel, and national prizes such as Prix Goncourt.

I think I may have also nominated TranslationCAT via PM. Like Kristelh, I hadn't thought it through a lot but I have lots of books in translation on my shelves and I think it's a great way to expand one's reading horizons.

>106 Helenliz: I, too, am less interested in something that is genre driven. I don't know how it would go with different languages (we'd need to identify twelve of them...) but that would be preferable for me. I could get into the location theme, too, but not so much the genre theme.

>108 EBT1002: That's why I think a mix of locations, languages and themes would allow more people to participate when there's something that interests them.

The votes are in, and the winners have been chosen! See the voting thread for details :)

https://www.librarything.com/topic/297720

Link to the wiki for the ScaredyKIT: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2019_ScaredyKIT

All are welcome to take part in this optional challenge.

The January thread has been posted: https://www.librarything.com/topic/299779

Looking for four more hosts for the 2020 Non-fiction CAT. Pick an existing topic, or suggest your own.