Emily’s
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(group member since Jan 04, 2017)
Emily’s
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from the Around the Year in 52 Books group.
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How fun, Dixie! I'm going to include it on the weekly thread.
Great question that I hadn't thought about lol. I may do a spreadsheet tab just for the anniversary prompts like I do with the Rejects. We have so many tabs lol but I think that's the easiest way to keep up with the count without it interfering with the statistics.
dalex, it would be hard to judge since "creative" is so subjective.Siobhan, I agree. It's been hard for me to read through the comments when I know how much time and effort is put into the polls (not just mine! but all of the members!). The only ray of hope is that I've been doing this long enough to know that it always gets this way at the end of polling, and that people are generally happy with the list once we get to January. We get a bit myopic when we are in the process, but the process is almost over and the enthusiasm will return.
As for the Close Call on the Close Calls poll (lol), that one was in and out of the top all week, but fell away with the last 10-15 votes, so I felt like it needed to be recognized, even if it didn't make it to the top.
And yes, this means Sandwiches is out of the running. Per the Rules thread, "Prompts that are submitted in 3 polls and do not make it to the final list cannot be resubmitted in later polls unless substantially reworked."
No stupid questions! We have a threshold of negative net votes that we set to include prompts in the bottom, and none of the prompts met that threshold. The downvotes were pretty spread out this round, so none of them got that much more downvotes than upvotes.Because bottom prompts are not allowed to be resubmitted, we want to be careful about what we include in the downvotes.
Are you on the Google Sheets app? You can open it without it, but you have to have the Sheets app to edit it!
Results are posted for Poll 16!https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
The next round of suggestions will open around noon CDT on Saturday, October 5.
And that's a wrap on our Close Calls poll! As expected, zero of the prompts qualified to be a bottom prompt.Top:
A book by an author whose publishing career spans at least ten years
A book with a weird or intriguing title
Bottom:
We had no prompts qualify for the bottom this poll!
Close Call:
A book set in a nation, territory, or commonwealth whose predominant language is Spanish
The next round of suggestions will go live around noon CDT on Saturday, October 5.
We actually have more votes right now than we have had on any poll so far, and we've only gotten two votes today, so I'm closing it up.
Haha you've discovered my secret Jess!But really, half of it is being intentional and the other half is just spacing things out so we don't have too many of the same types of prompts in a row.
A few years ago (before I was mod, so maybe more than a few lol), we had a 4 up 4 down voting style - as in, you could have a max of 4 up votes and a max of 4 downvotes. We moved to having 8 total votes at some point and never looked back.We have never had more than that, though, so I guess the idea you're saying is like... 15 votes, and you must up or down every prompt?
I've added our most recent batch of prompts.I'm definitely putting the Tournament of Books prompt in the beginning of the year - likely end of February, since the Tournament takes place in March and those of us who are reading the shortlist can use it to fill a prompt.
Seems like anytime of year is a good time of year to read about witches, goddesses, and nuns lol
Use this thread to discuss books you're reading, plans you have, and prompts you've completed!
Happy spooky season! Before we dive too far into all things mystery and thriller, let us know what your favorite read of September was!Answer the following questions:
- Title
- Author
- Rating
- Format (Print, eBook, Audio)
- ATY Prompt you used it for (if applicable)
- Brief reason why it was the best
Best Books Listopia
I am still reading the same print book I started on the last day of the read-a-thon. Granted, I knew I would have a crazy week last week so I don’t think I can blame that, but still! Up early this morning to try to finish it before month’s end.
I would encourage y'all to down vote at least a couple! Formula seems to work better when there's a healthy amount of both up votes and down votes.
Where These Prompts Came FromThis is a Close Calls poll. We had 9 prompts that were designated as Close Calls during their particular poll (that did not make it in later polls).
For the 6 remaining prompts, the mods looked at the prompts that had the highest net votes compared across polls. We pulled the 6 highest net votes (disregarding prompts that got in later or were too similar to prompts that did make it in) and broke ties by looking at who had the most upvotes.
These prompts were chosen based on YOUR voting this year!
THOUGHTS & IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREADS1. Poll 2: A book that fits prompt no. 25 of a previous year's ATY challenge
2024: A book involving a crime other than a murder
2023: A book with a tropical setting
2022: A book less than 220 pages OR more than 440 pages
2021: A book set on an island
2020: Related to the arts
2019: Inspired by the wedding rhyme: Book #3 Something Borrowed
2018: A book with an antagonist/villain point of view
2017: A book with illustrations
2016: A book whose main character is in a profession that interests you
2. Poll 2: A book published in a quarter-century year (e.g. 1925, 1950, 1975, 2000, 2025)
The person who proposed it thought this could be a way of having a second book published in 2025 as an option while opening it up a bit for those of us who are too behind to read new releases. It also highlights an element unique to 2025 (being a quarter-century year.
Examples of books that qualify include:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
’Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Shōgun by James Clavell
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
3. Poll 2: A book with a negation in the title
This means: no, none, nobody, nowhere, never etc.
don't, hasn't etc.
and pre/sufffixes like un-, dis-, -less, de-, in- or mis-
4. Poll 3: A book whose cover, title, or author’s name relates to SANDWICHES
Bread: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Sourdough Creek by Caroline Fyffe
Meat: The Death of Francis Bacon by Max Porter, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Cheese: Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss
Vegetables: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café by Fannie Flagg
Condiments: Peanut Butter Fudge & Murder by Lori Woods, Knife Edge by Simon Mayo, A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
Sandwiches: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Cuban Heiress by Chanel Cleeton, Pastrami Murder by Patti Benning, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (submarine), The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, A Beautiful Cage by Alyson Reuben
5. Poll 3: A book with a title that is only a name or nickname
Here's a BIG Listopia full of examples.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
A few recent examples I've read or that are on my TBR:
James - Percival Everett
Big Swiss - Jen Beagin
Sam - Allegra Goodman
Monica - Daniel Clowes
Eileen - Ottessa Moshfegh
Angeline - Anna Quinn
Chouette - Claire Oshetsky
Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams
Piglet - Lottie Hazell
Julia - Sandra Newman
Kittentits - Holly Wilson
Monstrilio - Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Hild - Nicola Griffith
7. Poll 6: A book related to blood, sweat, or tears
(BIO option a book related to two or three of the words).
Helpful listopias
The word blood, sweat or tears in the title https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Best Non-fiction War Books https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/824
Best Heart Pounding Books https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Fantastic Future Warfare novels. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... (there are some books on this list that don't belong)
Working Up a Sweat: Female Athletes in Romance Novels https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Popsugar 2023 #33 - A Book About an Athlete/Sport https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Books that Made You Cry! https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
8. Poll 6: A book with an occupation in the title
The Judge's List
The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers' Guild
A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
Doctor Sleep
The Fishermen
9. Poll 6: A book set in a country bordering the Caribbean Sea
Basically Mexico, central America, Cuba, all the Lesser Antilles, and the top part of South America
Map of Caribbean Sea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbe...
Possible listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
11. Poll 9: A book set in a nation, territory, or commonwealth whose predominant language is Spanish
Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Andorra, Belize, and Gibraltar
12. Poll 9: A book with a lucky or unlucky symbol on the cover
Lucky symbols - horseshoe, 4 leaf clover, rabbit’s foot, etc
Unlucky- broken mirror, the number 13, black cat, etc.
13. Poll 10: A microhistory
A history about one very specific thing — a few titles for example — SO many topics!:
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way by Bill Bryson
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs
Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O'Meara
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
14. Poll 11: A book that is an Audie award winner or nominee (read in any format)
Awards recognizing distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). This prompt will be inclusive of our audiobook reading members, but still open to all to read in any book format that they prefer. Audiobook listeners know that the narrator can sometimes make or break a book. So let’s honor those award winning narrators with this prompt! Awards are given in 26 categories, includes fiction and non fiction, and there are some awesome titles that have won or been nominated going all the way back to 1996.
https://www.audiopub.org/audie-awards...
https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/...
15. Poll 11: A book based on the theme of one of six Las Vegas hotels: Luxor, Excalibur, The Flamingo, MGM Grand, Circus Circus, and Treasure Island
--Luxor (Egypt, the Titanic)
--Excalibur (Medieval, King Arthur)
--The Flamingo (Tropical, birds)
--MGM Grand (Hollywood, movies)
--Circus, Circus (Circus, carnival, fair)
--Treasure Island (Pirates, treasure)
