Emily’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2017)

Emily’s comments from the Around the Year in 52 Books group.

Tournament of Books had some really great short books on their 2024 shortlist, which I've added to the listopia. ToB always has a couple shorties on their list so I'll probably just read one of those as my novella for next year.

Yea, the group has been pretty definitive on these results this year so far. The bottoms are *really* bottom, and the tops have a clear margin between them and the next best. Not a lot of polarizing, though I will say that the mod prompt had a ton of upvotes but enough downvotes to keep it out of the top. It would have been number 4 or 5 on the list of net votes, but it had too many downvotes to put it in the top.

Because I watch the voting as the week goes on, I will say that most of the upvotes came in the early voting (people who are more engaged in the process, likely), and most of the downvotes came later in the week (people who may log in just to vote).

Results are posted for Poll 3!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The next round of suggestions will open around 1 pm CST on Saturday, July 19, and this will be our multi-week poll!

A conclusive round of results!

Top
An author's second/sophomore book
A novella of 100-250 pages

Bottom
A book with a fraction in the title
A book with an embossed cover or raised lettering
A book from a publishing company, the logotype of which depicting a tangible thing

The next round of suggestions will open around 1 pm CST on Saturday, July 19, and this will be our multi-week poll!

That's so fun, Pam!

I've been updating the Thoughts and Ideas thread to reflect what the mods are posting here. If this prompt does make it in, we would put a more extensive list and contribute to the listopia to give people ideas!

Voting is open for Poll 3! Catch up on the discussion and vote here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Hey Charlsa, I’ll make that change before voting goes live.

As for the links, we typically don’t link books in that portion of the thread. It gets to be really time consuming for us as mods to tag the books individually since we can’t just right click + Copy Link like we do for the true hyperlinks. If you want the books linked, I’d recommend copying the code into a Google doc and sharing that doc so that we can easily copy and paste the code over to this thread. That’s what others have done in the past anyway! Otherwise, we leave it up to the members to search the book names (so adding authors might be helpful) on their own.

English, economics, personal finance, and journalism! Was also a college counselor and academic advisor, and the cheerleading sponsor and yearbook sponsor. Basically any book set in a high school would fit haha!

As for me, I'm a "retired" teacher who now works with her husband at our CPA firm. I have a toddler and another baby on the way. I started a book club 12 years ago and we vacation together every summer (here's a link to all of the books we've read in our book club: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c...). I also enjoy running and eating sweets haha!

Just coming back to this thread after posting it! I will update the first post to include the unusual occupation listopia, as well as the facts the mods have shared about themselves. I know that, if this prompt gets voted in, we can certainly give even more info (favorite books of the year, etc) and we can contribute to the listopia on our own behalf with books we think would connect well with us.

Yep!

CLOSED

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM THE SUGGESTIONS THREAD

1. A book that is related to one of the group’s moderators
The author or a character in the book could have the same first name.
The book could be related somehow to one of the mod’s profile photos or the type of mod they are: Celestial, Contemporaneous etc.

Ideas from the Mods:

Emily - As for me, I'm a "retired" teacher who now works with her husband at our CPA firm in Louisiana. I have a toddler and another baby on the way. I started a book club 12 years ago and we vacation together every summer (here's a link to all of the books we've read in our book club: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c...). I also enjoy running and eating sweets haha!

Jackie - I'm currently in Wisconsin. I'm a scientist, a mom, and a dog lover. My favorite genres are mystery, history, and nature books. Other hobbies include baking, DIY projects, and video games.

Robin - I can speak and read French. I grew up on a sheep farm but always lived in cities as an adult. I am retired but I have a paying gig where I speak about lesser-known women from history. I like cats, chocolate, and tea.

Pamela - I live in Salem, MA. I've worked my whole career in museums-- I started as a military/aviation curator but currently work at the House of the Seven Gables-- so here's your excuse to read Hawthorne. I wish I was a fashion curator though. I also knit and travel extensively. I read a lot of paranormal romance and try to balance it out with non-fiction, classics, and literary fiction. I've just started Moby Dick again- if anyone wants to use this prompt to shame me into actually finishing it, feel free.

And yep, I'm the beach. I do love the beach! A coworker did my Hinge profile and actually listed under desirable things for a man "good beach sticker."

Trish - I live in London. I work as a financial editor and proofreader. I have cats. I'm the wrong side of 60. I enjoy reading, photography and like to cook.

2. A book written in or set in the eighteenth century
1700s

3. A book on one of Goodreads New Releases by Genre page
https://www.goodreads.com/new_releases/

This link will take you to the most recent month, but you can scroll back to see previous months listed. There are around 50 options per month in a variety of genres, so it's a great prompt for people who want a list and for people who don't want a list!

4. A mystery without a murder
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Shadow of the Wind
The Moonstone
The Woman In White
The Art Forger
Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie
Stealing Mona Lisa
The Case Of The Missing Books
Dog on It Chet and Bernie Mystery Series, Book 1
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
The Perils Of Lady Catherine De Bourgh
The Franchise Affair
Get Real
The Tale of Hill Top Farm
The Greenglass House
The Motion Picture Teller
The Violin Conspiracy
Gaudy Night
Aunt Dimity's Death
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
A Highland Christmas

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
https://bookriot.com/non-murder-myste...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
https://cozy-mystery.com/blog/cozy-my...

5. An author's second/sophomore book
This is pretty much self-explanatory since you would be picking an author and go through their catalog to find the second book that they've published.

In case anyone needs help with this prompt, here are some examples down below:
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/2...
https://bookriot.com/best-sophomore-n...

6. A book with a symbol of death on the cover
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbols...
Symbols of death are the motifs, images and concepts associated with death throughout different cultures, religions and societies.

Skull, coffin, hourglass, tombstone, grim reaper, scythe, crow, bat, owl, cross, angel, black dog, candle, lily, red poppy, noose, pale horse, etc.

7. A novella of 100-250 pages
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://modernmrsdarcy.com/short-nove...

Sometimes it's nice to read something short, and there are lots of novellas out now, from All Systems Red to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Small Things Like These and Every Heart a Doorway.

8. A book with a fraction in the title
Such as half, third, quarter, eighth
Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

9. A book with an embossed cover or raised lettering
I’m not only thinking of library edition hardbacks but many modern paperbacks also seem to have their titles in a raised font

10. A book with an alliteration in author name or title
Definition: Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels, if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant.

Examples of author names:
Bill Bryson
Daniel Defoe
Margaret Mitchell
Graham Greene
Ford Maddox Ford
Hermann Hesse
James Joyce,
Ken Kesey
Lois Lowry
Shel Silverstein
Walt Whitman
Madeline Miller
Rick Riordan
Fanny Flagg
Brit Bennett, etc.
Listopia of Author Names with Alliteration: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Examples of titles:
The Monk of Mocha
Legends & Lattes
At the Coffeeshop of Curiosities
The Canopy Keepers (works since C and K in this example have the same sound)
Table for Two
West With Giraffes
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade (2 alliterations!)
The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher
Listopias of Titles with Alliteration: https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag?id...

12. A book with a character who has an unusual, uncommon, or "extinct" occupation
Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Examples:
The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of London
Lady of Ashes (lady undertaker)
Weeper(professional mourner)
The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-mile Horseback Journey into the Old West

13. A book connected to iron
e.g. Iron in the title
FE author or title initials
Grey cover
Rust
Iron age
Industrial revolution
Meteors

14. A book from a publishing company, the logotype of which depicting a tangible thing
Like the penguin for Penguin Press

https://99designs.com/blog/creative-i...
This list shows a multitude of logos, even abstract ones but there are several logos of actual things, animals and so on.

15. A book featured as a Book of the Month Club pick
You can either pick a previous title or pick a title that gets selected in 2026
-Here's the website that shows their selections from the time of their revamp to the present: https://www.bookofthemonth.com/all-mo...
-Here's the website that shows you their older selections. You'll have to click the decade "1920s", scroll down to 1926, and on the bottom RIGHT for each year after should be the "Book-of-the-Month Club Selections": http://www.booksofthecentury.com/
-Here's my own spreadsheet I made of the selections from the time I joined (August 2017) to the present: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! The thread will be open for at least 24 hours before the poll gets posted. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may have regarding the prompts, do some research, or ask for recommendations.

Voting will open in the morning of July 14 and results will be posted in the morning of July 18 (CST time).

How it works:
- When the voting opens, follow the link to the mini-poll that will be added at the end of this post
- You have a total of 8 votes this poll to spread across your favorite and least favorite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- You can find examples of acceptable voting practices on the Introduction thread.
- The prompts with the more favorable votes (comparing top votes to bottom votes, and looking at the overall number of votes it received) will be added to the final list

We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile.

Poll Prompts:
1. A book that is related to one of the group’s moderators
2. A book written in or set in the eighteenth century
3. A book on one of Goodreads New Releases by Genre page
4. A mystery without a murder
5. An author's second/sophomore book
6. A book with a symbol of death on the cover
7. A novella of 100-250 pages
8. A book with a fraction in the title
9. A book with an embossed cover or raised lettering
10. A book with an alliteration in author name or title
11. A book with a challenge or competition, such as a marathon, contest, or campaign
12. A book with a character who has an unusual, uncommon, or "extinct" occupation
13. A book connected to iron
14. A book from a publishing company, the logotype of which depicting a tangible thing
15. A book featured as a Book of the Month Club pick

Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.

VOTE HERE:https://forms.gle/CPihGvhNNQksJzicA

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Let's save this discussion for the voting thread!

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