Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Archives
>
[2020] Voting for 7th Mini Poll
I'm currently editing the first post with your recommendations, so don't hesitate to add them here if you haven't posted them in the suggestion thread.
So many good suggestions this time! I want to vote for everything!
I really like this list of suggestions. I may end up using all 8 as upvotes this time.
I am struggling to find an interesting book related to floriography. A plea to the fans of this category: what do you recommend? What do you plan to read if this wins?
Same here, there are so many I want to vote for! I also spent far too much time on the 1001 books by women list, I've read only 34, but I have dozens on my TBR!
I’ve read 72 books of the 1000 but I’ve got quite a lot more of them on my TBR. I’ve also read other books by authors on the list, just not the books that are listed.
Whoops, missed this round of suggestions. There's a lot of prompts I like here. I really hope the Egypt prompt gets in. I had a book set in Egypt pencilled in for the Mediterranean prompt this year and ended up reading something completely different (as usual). This could be the shove to finally read it!
I really like the suggestions this time around, so many good ones!
- A book that is not the genre the author is best known for: My first thought was that I might finally read Louis L'Amour's book of detective stories: The Hills of Homicide!-A noir crime novel: I'm probably re-reading The Big Over Easy if this one wins, and I don't even care if 'noir humor' isn't a real thing. :-)
-A book written by or about a laureate: I was a little skeptical at first (and surprised how few of the names I recognized!) but considering the list included Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein, I should be able to find something to work with.
- Roll the Genre Generator twice, pick one of those two options and read a book in that genre: I not sure why I'm such a sucker for random generators, but I love this! I even got satire and romance when I rolled, which are not my favorite genres by a long shot and I'm still like, yep, I can work with that, totally voting for it.
- A book from the "1000 Books by Women" list: I'm impressed by the range on this list! I didn't get all the way through the list, but I already know I can use it to pick from several classics I want to read (or re-read), or just fall back on re-reading The Hunger Games. Definitely an up-vote from me. (I will vote for all the lists that have books I want to read on them, just so all the list crazy people will be satisfied without putting in lists I hate!)
Copy/pasting from the suggestion thread...A noir crime novel
Subcategories (and examples):
Classic - Raymond Chandler
Modern/Neo-noir - Dennis Lehane
Rural/Country - Daniel Woodrell
Nordic - Jo Nesbø
Tartan - Val McDermid
Fantasy & Sci-fi - Jim Butcher
Lists:
100 Must-Read Works of Noir
50 Must-Read Noir Detective Novels
12 Crime Noir Books That Will Have You Reaching for Your Trench Coat
10 Female Noir and Mystery Writers You Need to Read
9 Great Noir Books
8 Works of Literary Noir
The Best Noir Fiction of 2018
The Best Old-School Noir Novels
10 Essential Neo-Noir Authors
Top Ten Rural Noir Novels
A Rural Noir Primer
Nordic Noir 101: Best Books to Get to Know the Genre
Step Inside the Thrilling World of Tartan Noir
12 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books That Channel the Blood of Hardboiled Noir into Their Black, Black Hearts
8 Intriguing Dark Fantasy Noir Novels
Urban Fantasy Noir
This is absolutely the best set of prompts we've had so far, imo. There are so many that are unique and creative and I super love them! (Honestly, the only one I really feel like I'll downvote is "A book by an indigenous woman." That's a prompt in this year's Reading Women Challenge and I just could not find a single book I was even remotely interested in.)
It's gonna be a long long wait to find out the results for this round! :)
Raquel wrote: "- (I will vote for all the lists that have books I want to read on them, just so all the list crazy people will be satisfied without putting in lists I hate!) ..."Hah Raquel, same!
I have The Language of Flowers on my TBR list and I just saw that there are several books with this same name. Here is a search on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=th...On this Wikipedia page there is a section about the language of flowers in literature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languag...
So many great suggestions this week, I’ll really struggle to choose how I’ll vote.dalex, the lists for noir are amazing, thanks for finding them all. That prompt will definitely be an up vote for me after seeing all those possibilities.
Suzanne wrote: "I have The Language of Flowers on my TBR list and I just saw that there are several books with this same name. Here is a search on GR: https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=th......"I loved that book. At the end there's a glossary of flowers and what they mean. I wonder if you could use a book a flower in the title or the meaning. For example Tansy means I declare war on you, so The War of the Worlds
I have more than 8 I want to up vote, so I'll probably exclude the prompts that I've done multiple times this year for other challenges, even though I sure won't be disappointed if those make it in. The last two prompts put me over the edge and I'm definitely voting for the genre generator and 1000 Books By Women list. I'd love to see more crime fiction and Noir is at the top too.
These links might help for LGBTQIA+:https://bookriot.com/category/lgbtq/
https://bookriot.com/2019/01/02/2019-...
https://bookriot.com/tag/lgbtqia/
https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/lgbt
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
https://www.bustle.com/articles/72362...
https://www.bustle.com/articles/16781...
There are others, but that's a good start.
Can I have 10 upvotes this week, please? Such great choices.
Mod
There's a (albeit limited) section on floriography in literature.
There's also this GR list for nonfiction books on the subject: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
It also seems that it was at it's height in the Victorian era, so you could read something from that time period.
Then, of course, you could just go with a book with a flower on the cover, or a flower arrangement (if you want to be more precise), or a flower name in the title, or a character with the name of a flower.
I'm just spitballing options -- not sure if this is what the original intent of the suggestion was.
Looks like I'm out of sync with the group again this week, judging by all the comments above how exciting this list is. I have a few prompts that I like, but not particularly strong feelings either way about most of them.
Wow that was quick! I was coming on to see if there was anything I wanted to second. Lol. Lots of interesting prompts this week. Another options for Egypt is The Buried by Peter Hessler (can’t link since I’m on the app). I’ll probably end up reading that this year and go for a novel if it makes it.
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum from everyone else this week I guess but I have 3 upvotes and a lot of downvotes. My three upvotes are the 2020 Olympics in Japan, Florence Nightingale and LGBTQIA+.
Mod
My top 4 off the bat were: laureate, Florence Nightingale, 1000 books by women, and NYT book list.
I'm debating between genre that the author isn't known for (looking at you, Robert Gailbraith), recommended by an independent bookshop (I follow a ton of bookstores on Instagram), 2020 Olympic Games (variety!), and LGBTQIA+ (I read so many of these already that this would be a free category for me -- but I would like our list to have some diversity).
I can only choose two, so that will take some narrowing down.
In the bottom, I have the noir crime and a book set in Egypt.
I was thinking I would downvote the indigenous woman prompt, but I realized I can read the sequel to Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse. I read this one for the indigenous prompt this year and loved it... so I won't be downvoting this prompt.
EDIT: Thanks Selu! I am looking forward to reading it... I have it out from the library already, but I may just wait until next year to get to it.
Are there any suggestions for "A book related to social justice."
I like almost all of these. I might have to do upvotes only this round, since I don't have anything here that I truly hate. That's nice, because no matter what wins I will be content...there are a few that will make me downright happy!
I'm not in sync with the group. I narrowed my list to a top 6 and bottom 6. I re-narrowed my list and have a 4/4 split but there is nothing I'm really excited about. Most I don't care for but they are do able.
I can't see any that I'd really dislike on this round. What a good bunch of options.
This round certainly is unique! For floriography, I would probably use a book with flowers on the cover, or a book with a character that shares a name with a flower (Rose, Daisy, Violet, Lavender, etc.). I like the specificity of the prompt, but also how open it can be for some people.
Although I usually tend to broad prompts, the Genre Generator feels too easy. No one would know what genre I got from the prompt, and we could roll as many times as we wanted. The genres it has seem too broad as well, and I don’t see too much to gain from this prompt. But then again, as I’m sitting here writing this, I thought maybe it could be that we have to find a book that has elements from BOTH of the genres you roll. I don’t know how to feel about this prompt!
For social justice, it could be specific to an event or political movement, but also it could be as simple as any book where a character feels marginalized due to prejudice. There’s a series of essays I’ve been meaning to read called #MeToo: Essays About How and Why This Happened, What It Means and How to Make Sure it Never Happens.
I'm having a really hard time trying to research books recommended by independent bookstores. I was trying to use bookstores in my city but none seem to offer recommendations, at least not online. Seems like it might be tough to research.
Rachel wrote: "I'm having a really hard time trying to research books recommended by independent bookstores. I was trying to use bookstores in my city but none seem to offer recommendations, at least not online. ..."I often find recommendations on a shelf when I go into the bookstore. I don't think you have to go on-line or stick to your local bookstore for this prompt.
Powells has many recommendations under Staff Picks on their website: https://www.powells.com/staff-picks. It's a good opportunity to visit some well-known bookstore websites from other countries to get some recommendations, too.
This might help with indie bookstores (links to most of the stores are included in the list). Some do recommendations or staff picks, and some don't. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/50-of-...
For independent bookstores, I’m just looking at the ones listed with the prompt. I don’t have any bookstores near me (unless I count the library’s used bookstore).
If you go to the Libro.fm website, you can see recommendations from a huge range of independent bookstores.
I was sticking to online because I don't have (or at least don't know of) any independent bookstores near me. The closest ones are downtown and I rarely go there, nor do I think I will be any time soon. For now I'm sticking to the lists others have suggested, but I think that loses a bit of the spirit of the prompt for me.
I do get newsletters from a couple of independent booksellers near me, but they are always lists of new books, and my major goal is to get through my massive tbr of books I already own. This is also my issue with prompts like the most anticipated books for 2020, so I always down vote those
I suggested the independent bookshop prompt and I don't have any bookshops in my town, but there are loads that have fantastic lists online. Or you can find one on social media and ask what they recommend. My list of examples is a bit short because I didn't want to fill it with just UK bookshops and I don't know many US ones, but if it got in I'm sure people could suggest more US ones.
Recommendations for books related to floriographyThe Language of Flowers - quite a few books on GR with this title
Any book with the name of a flower in the title - Blue Dahlia, The Black Dahlia, Red Lily, Black Orchid - again, there are many books with flowers in the title.
There are also non-fictin books that fit the prompt - here is a GR list https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
I'm happy to see the 2020 Olympics prompt back, I don't want a sport prompt but I really do want a Japan one so it works for both camps. I also like the Florence Nightingale one as I love an excuse to read some medical writing (War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line is a good but harrowing one if you want to go with war medicine for it). I'll also upvote LGBTQIA+ and bookshop rec, so I've just got to decide what to do with my other 4 votes...The genre generator is fun, if people think it's too easy a BIO could be to find a book with elements of both genres.
My mind is drawing a bit of a blank on the genre the author's not known for. I don't want to be stuck reading the "big names" and I can only think of Ann Leckie's fantasy novel which I'll probably read this year anyway.
That 1000 women list website is terrible, did they purposefully pick the least appealing editions to show? I got bored scrolling through so it's not enticing me to vote for it. I was uninspired by the 1001 books list this year, so I don't want it again.
The NYT is probably the best of the lists but it still seems light on genre fiction and high on the books that are everywhere so I've read or dismissed them already. I could probably find something though.
I don't particularly like noir tropes in books, but I could probably stretch to an urban fantasy noir if it got in so I won't downvote.
Jillian wrote: "Are there any suggestions for "A book related to social justice.""Social Justice in Fiction
Social Justice: Books on Racism, Sexism, and Class
17 Books to Build Your Social Justice Knowledge
11 Nonfiction Books About Social Justice To Read And Discuss With Your Book Club
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books with a Powerful Message of Social Justice
Jillian wrote: "Are there any suggestions for "A book related to social justice.""books I've loved:
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide
Men Explain Things to Me
Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger
Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story (I guess this one is more about science)
book I will probably read for this category (if it wins!):
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
other books that look good:
Superior: The Return of Race Science (this is the companion to Inferior)
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race
The Fire Next Time
When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America
One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy
One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America
Obviously, my "social justice" barometer centers on sexism and racism in USA society, but there are so many other facets to social justice.
I have created a list for the "Book that is not the genre the author is best known for" (just in case that got up) as I couldn't find one. Feel free to add to it.https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Mod
Some US independent bookstores that I follow:
The Strand (NYC)
Parnassus (Nashville)
Malaprops (Asheville, NC)
Garden District Bookshop (New Orleans)
All of these links go straight to the staff picks, and I think there's some diversity there! I don't have any independent bookstores around me, but I think it's not losing the spirit of the prompt to use a bookstore that isn't around you.
I really like the 2020 theme we have going on in our list, so I'd love to vote for 2020 Olympics in Japan and Florence Nightingale. The Egypt prompt is a bit too limiting to me so I won't vote for that one. I know the group is itching for a list prompt, and the NYT 100 Notable Books is the most appealing list to me so far, so I'm inclined to vote for it so that we can get a list prompt I like on the final list. I really just am not into the Laureate prompt, the 1000 Books by Women list, or the 1001 Books Before You Die list.
My other favorites are the Synopsis with a Question because it seems fun to research, but surprisingly there are a lot of books with question marks in their summaries, Floriography just because I like how simple it is but also unique, and the Book You've Been Meaning to Read because I like having a few prompts I can slot any old book into!
For the Olympics prompt, you might want to check out this HUGE list of Olympic romances.And apparently there is archery in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton!
Thanks for the links and suggestions for social justice.
dalex wrote: "For the Olympics prompt, you might want to check out this HUGE list of Olympic romances.And apparently there is archery in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton!"
Well today I learned that that's a niche with a lot of interest... When you said Olympic romance I assumed it was referring to romances of gods on Mt. Olympus. Wow!
Mod
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
500 Great Books by Women (other topics)Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (other topics)
Les Misérables (other topics)
Oliver Twist (other topics)
The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Olympia Vernon (other topics)Edith Wharton (other topics)
Edith Wharton (other topics)
Robert Gailbraith (other topics)
Rebecca Roanhorse (other topics)
More...
Voting will be opened from 7/24 until 7/29 and the results will be posted on 7/30.
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 per poll to spread across your favourite and least favourite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- The poll will be open for a week, so you don't have to rush and vote straightaway
- The prompts with the more "positive" votes (top minus bottom) will be announced shortly after the end of the poll and added to the final list (expect between 2 and 5 depending on how the votes are spread)
As a reminder: You have a total of 8 votes to use among your top and bottom votes. The mods have access to each individual vote, so we can see if you use more than 8 votes. If you use more than 8 votes in the poll, your vote will have to be deleted, so please make sure to follow the directions so your voice can be heard.
Poll Entries:
- A book that is not the genre the author is best known for
E.g. Lust by Roald Dahl
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling or any mystery book of the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling
The Great Train Robbery (historical fiction) by Michael Crichton (best know for sci-fi thrillers)
The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne (the only mystery by the author of Winney the Pooh)
Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder (children book) by Jo Nesbø (best known for Nordic Noir)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (children book) by Ian Fleming (author of James Bond)
Agatha Christie wrote some romance novels under the pen-name of Mary Westmacott
Lists:
https://www.bustle.com/p/13-bestselli...
http://flavorwire.com/275163/10-famou...
- A book recommended by an independent bookshop
https://mrbsemporium.com/book-lists/
https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.u...
https://www.astoriabookshop.com/?q=p....
https://www.politics-prose.com/staff-...
- A noir crime novel
Classic - Raymond Chandler
Modern/Neo-noir - Dennis Lehane
Rural/Country - Daniel Woodrell
Nordic - Jo Nesbø
Tartan - Val McDermid
Fantasy/Sci-fi - Jim Butcher
Women who have at least one noir novel: Vera Caspary, Megan Abbott, Laura Lippman, Sara Gran, Kristen Lepionka, Ottessa Moshfegh, Alison Gaylin, Attica Locke, Vicki Hendricks, Roxane Gay
Lists:
https://bookriot.com/2016/11/09/100-m...
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/5...
https://murder-mayhem.com/female-noir...
https://bookriot.com/2017/12/14/noir-...
https://electricliterature.com/8-work...
https://crimereads.com/the-best-noir-...
https://www.mensjournal.com/entertain...
http://flavorwire.com/388913/10-essen...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
https://litreactor.com/columns/its-mo...
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
https://murder-mayhem.com/10-nordic-n...
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/12-sci-...
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/s...
https://crimereads.com/urban-fantasy-...
https://www.mensjournal.com/entertain...
- A book you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to
E.g.:a classic novel you feel like you should read but keep skipping
Something from the stack of books you bought but keep reading library books instead
A recommendation a friend keeps insisting you’ll love but it never fits into your reading prompts
Finishing out a favorite author’s bibliography (because there’s always at least one straggler that is off genre or older or you just never got to before moving on)
A book you keep starting and setting down because it’s big or daunting
The former bestseller that you never read because the holds lists were too long and you forgot about later
- A book related to the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Japan (eg. a book set in Japan, a Japanese author, a book about sports, a book with (Olympic) rings on the cover, a book about swimming...)
- A book set in Egypt (to celebrate the year 2020 as the international phone calling code for Egypt is 20)
Children of the Storm
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Flow Down Like Silver: Hypatia of Alexandria
The Heretic Queen
The English Patient
The Queue
Alif the Unseen
As You Desire
Mr. Impossible
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt
Cleopatra: A Life
https://partwaythere.com/2018/01/30/t...
https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...
https://www.goodreads.com/places/17-e...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
- A book written by or about a laureate
Examples include Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Marie Curie, Bob Dylan, John Steinbeck, Cressida Cowell, Malorie Blackman, Michael Morpurgo, William Wordsworth, Simon Armitage and many, many more.
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel-priz...
https://www.britannica.com/topic/list...
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/what-we-...
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/po...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
- A book related to Florence Nightingale (2020 is the 200th anniversary of her birth)
This prompt could include a book featuring a nurse, anything regarding the hospital/medical field, a war novel centered around a field hospital, a nightingale on cover, set in Florence, etc.
- A book with a synopsis that includes a question (synopsis could mean the back-of-the-book blurb, the Goodreads summary, etc.)
- A book from the list of 1001 books to read before you die
https://1001bookreviews.com/the-1001-...
- A book related to social justice
- The first book in a series that you have not started
- A book by an author not from the Anglosphere (English-speaking nations that share cultural & historical ties to the UK)
Anglosphere is a new term for me, but it's different from countries that have English as an official language (anglophone). It is the combination of language & culture. It includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK & US. Other definitions of Anglosphere include Ireland & English-speaking Caribbean countries (this could be a BIO option for the prompt).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglosp...
- A book related to floriography (the language of flowers)
@Lauren & Johanna, do you have any recommendations to share?
- A popular author's first novel
- A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
- A book by an indigenous woman
https://hellogiggles.com/reviews-cove...
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/03...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://49thshelf.com/Lists/Members/2...
https://electricliterature.com/decolo...
https://roommagazine.com/blog/14-abor...
https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytod...
- A book from the New York Times '100 Notable Books' list for any year
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/bo...
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/23/bo...
And the Goodreads list in case you can't access the NYT website: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8...
- Roll the Genre Generator twice, pick one of those two options and read a book in that genre
https://tools.libove.org/generators/r...
- A book from the "1000 Books by Women" list
https://www.listchallenges.com/1000-b...
Vote here: https://www.surveymoz.com/s/MFS66/