Alicia’s Comments (group member since Dec 25, 2019)

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

Ooh good point dalex. I missed the “known” part. I thought it was just “a book with a great last line” so it could be subjective for us. Now I don’t know if I’ll upvote it. Hmmmm

Nike wrote: "I haven't got a clue about which novels are having great last lines and I won't vote for it."

I think this is one where its best not to really plan for. I think most of us come across a book throughout the year where it ends and we're smiling, shocked, crying, etc. But I definitely wouldn't want to go around reading last lines ahead of time hoping it would work.

My issue with prompts like a book you can read in 24 hours is the "can". I'm an overthinker and there are a lot of books I CAN read in 24 hours, but do I actually have to read it in 24 hours for it to count? Then I get all anxious and confused and feel like I'm cheating.

Probably not a downvote, just a crazy tick

I really like Audie Award, I read a lot of audiobooks. Also excited about great last line. I think it’s a fantastic alternative to first line. I’m never really pulled towards first likes of books, and I feel the list of options is always the same. But there are definitely times I’ve finished a book and gone WTF! I just had that reaction last night finishing up The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin.

I’ll also upvote celebrity book club.

There are a few I’ll downvote because I feel we see a version of them every year. Then don’t know what to do with the rest of my votes.

Ha, I've given 10 books 1-star ratings this year. All of them I would have DNF'd if i didn't want to count them for the challenge lol.

But I've given 31 5-star ratings

I’m the opposite, I actually read reviews if I’m hesitant about adding a book to my TBR or if I’m not sure I really want to start it. But I don’t read all reviews, I only focus on friends reviews and ratings. From this group, I know I’m generally aligned with Irene, Nancy and Sam so I look to see what they say/thought.

Then if I have a part of a book where I’m like what?!?!? Either because I’m confused or I’m excited, I like searching all reviews and seeing if people are talking about the same things. I also like reading the Q&A after I read a book.

Also Irene, I actually read a lot of your reviews since we pick a lot of similar books. I very much enjoy and appreciate them

I wrote reviews for every book I read in 2021. But then I started falling behind in 2022 and then it just snowballed and there was no way I could go back. I need to just start again from scratch

Ooh good luck for me. Neutral on two of the tops and upvoted education. And dpwnvoted all the bottoms.

Why disheartening? It still has a good chance of getting in.

Irene wrote: "Alicia wrote: "If it doesn’t get in, I’d actually prefer a narrower version of the marginalized prompt. Perhaps something like a book that highlights a character’s marginalization or where marginal..."

I really like that! I feel like in 90-95% of the books I read during the year has a woman, minority and/or LGBTQ and that doesn't include other marginalizations like disabilities, immigration status, etc. So even main character would be read a book.

I know I can adapt the prompt to fit something more narrow, but for some reason my mind just doesn't process it as fitting as it's written.

If it doesn’t get in, I’d actually prefer a narrower version of the marginalized prompt. Perhaps something like a book that highlights a character’s marginalization or where marginalization is central to the story. All that wording is clunky, but I’d definitely vote for that.

@Irene I get your point and I think that my issue with the prompt is that it is just so broad.

Even if there is a happily ever after or all positive things happen, there is always a mention of their "difference". I read a fair amount of mixed-race romances and while the characters are generally happy, there is always still a point where race does come up. Because in real life, race is still an issue in any mixed-race relationship. It may not affect our overall happiness, but is still something that has to be discussed. Or I always find there is at least one sentence in most books with female characters that discuss their inferiority, weakness, fragility, etc.

While marginalized is a bit broader than BIPOC, I still see marginalization parts in almost all books I read.

I’m not saying they aren’t. They clearly are. But it essentially just becomes an award winning woman or non-binary author. Which is just too broad for me.

But dalex, that’s not actually what the prompt is. It’s not limited to those that are predominantly dominated by men. Thomas confirmed that above.

It could be a romance award that is predominantly women winners, but if Nicholas sparks has won once all the female authors could still be used.

I always put stuff in, but then I find another book I want to read and then I’m forced to move stuff around

So another way to phrase the prompt would be “a woman or non-binary author that has won an award that isn’t a womens or non-binary only prize”.

dalex wrote: "Alicia wrote: "For #1, wouldn’t that be almost all award winning female writers? A large majority of awards are open to men."

The idea here is to celebrate or showcase female authors that win priz..."

I guess my issue with it then is that I have to have some knowledge about awards or do research on how many men have won it v. women. I guess I could just read an N.K. Jemison book if it gets in, but I don't know how most of us would be able to know which prizes fit and which don't that easily. But while Women's Prizes were created to "fix" that gap (which is a question of whether it fixes it or masks it), those wouldn't be eligible. So it would still end up being any woman that has won a non-women only award. Except maybe the stereotypical romance awards or something like that.

For non-binary, I would really guess ANY non-binary award winner is going to be unique in the category, so I could also just go that way.

I think I’ll have all downvotes this week.

For #1, wouldn’t that be almost all award winning female writers? A large majority of awards are open to men.

Not a big fan of this version of the nonfiction book. It’s been done a lot and the nonfiction I read isn’t necessarily something I’ve “always wanted to learn about”.

The Barbie one is very broad.

The politics one is a no from me because I’ll read enough news stories on it. Also, not sure how publicity fits into that.

For a character that is marginalized, I feel like this is present in almost all books with women, LGBT, and different ethnicities. There is always at least something that focuses on them being "different"

And “nod to weather” is weird because every book mentions weather. But I also have weather prompt fatigue.

I agree with Ellie, I just want to see all types of fun prompts. I don’t really care for what category they fall on in the list. I like character, title, cover, and related to. I’m pickier about lists and awards, but will still vote for some. I usually like ones that are based in countries outside of America and don’t necessarily take themselves too seriously. I like the occasional serious book, but by the end of the day I usually just want something frivolous.