Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Archives
>
[2020] Voting for the 9th Mini Poll
I love that we have two music prompts, I hope both makes it in! 🤞🏻 I also like the Abe list, and the deceased authors prompt.
I’m not sure I quite get the top-shelf prompt. When I go to the top shelves for my favorite book, there are tons of shelves to choose from, and they’re all pretty generic. Shelves like “thriller,” “want to read,” or “fiction.” This could literally be any book ever. Am I missing something?
Avery wrote: "I’m not sure I quite get the top-shelf prompt. When I go to the top shelves for my favorite book, there are tons of shelves to choose from, and they’re all pretty generic. Shelves like “thriller,” ..."If you click on that shelf from the top shelves bit, it shows you a limited selection (for science fiction I'm shown "new releases" and "most read this week"). So I'm guessing you should pick out of one of those.
I can't find my top shelf. Could someone spell it out in idiots language and I will try to follow?
Jill wrote: "I can't find my top shelf. Could someone spell it out in idiots language and I will try to follow?"It's not very obvious Jill. If you're on the desktop site, go to any book's page. On the right underneath the advert there is a "genres" list. At the bottom of that it says "See top shelves..." Click on that to see the shelves and click one to see what books it suggests for that shelf.
Jill wrote: "I can't find my top shelf. Could someone spell it out in idiots language and I will try to follow?"Jill - there may be an easier way, but this is how I found it. You need to go to the GR homepage of one of your favourite books. On the right, you should see some books that other readers enjoyed. Under that there is a section where it says Genres. Directly under that you should see and be able to click on a link that says “See top shelves ...”.
To find “top shelf” - On mobile (on the iPhone app - I suspect Droid is different), scroll all the way to the bottom of the book page, you’ll see “genres” and three to five shelves are listed. It doesn’t actually say “top shelves” but it’s the top few shelves. On the computer, clicking “top shelves” gives you LOTS of shelves - I think I’m better off restricting myself to the top few shown on mobile.
Mod
Yes it would be limited to the books that appear when you click on the shelf. Not just any thriller.
I was trying to think of a way to include a genre prompt, given that people tend to have a hard time with them due to different tastes. Since genres are common shelves, I thought that would be a good way to include genres.
It’s also flexible for level of challenge since it can easily be a BIO option by by saying ‘top 10’ or even just the first shelf listed.
Thanks Ellie, Hannah , Nadine. Found it at last, although I don't like it , as it seems like a free read to me.
I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?
Like, Newfoundland and Hawaii come up on lists of countries that no longer exist.
So, can I read a book set in those places today or do I have to read a historical fiction set there when they were still their own countries rather than a province and a state?
Because I’m enjoying the hunt for books for those settings but I don’t like the need to confine myself to historical fiction or non-fiction
Ellie wrote: "Does science fiction poetry exist?"An Eloquence of Time and Space: An Unauthorized Doctor Who Poem Book
Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse
This doesn't actually help unless you're a Dr Who fan (maybe it's really more fanfiction poetry than sci-fi poetry?), but it does suggest there may be more out there. :-)
Even the more random shelf names on my favourite book (recently, anyway, it’s a hard choice to make) aren’t leading me to anything I haven’t already heard of, so I’d have to bend the prompt to at the least allow me to just pick something I haven’t read yet.
I have 3 up and 5 down. I don't like the Beatles per say, but I love the idea of searching for a book related to one of their songs (which is why I nominated it), I also like the ABE list because it is authors and not just a single specific book by each author. And the Earth day prompt is a top for me. There are so many ways to go with that one.
I'm not voting for them but the Canadian and the Australian author prompts would push me to work a bit more on my around the world challenge. I broke Canada and Australia down to states/territories. I want to read an author born in each state/territory in each of those countries (as I have already done for the US and the UK). I'm about half done with both countries so an extra push to read the harder to find authors would be nice.
Ellie wrote: "Does science fiction poetry exist?."Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association
Speculative Poetry: Poems of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Other-Worldly Visions
Heart-Rending Poems for Sci-Fi Fanatics
Chinook wrote: "I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?
Like, Newfoundland and Hawaii come up on lists of countries that no longer exist.
S..."
The way I viewed it when I suggested it would lend itself to historical fiction or non-fiction about that nation/empire. I intended to be more of nations/empires that are dissolved rather than ones that have been “rebranded” so to speak when they change from monarchy to democracy or something. If Hawaii were to be used, it’d have to be about the Kingdom prior to its overthrow and American occupation.
Chinook wrote: "I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?"
It doesn't necessarily have to be historical fiction. The breakup of Yugoslavia happened in the 1990s. I just recently read Girl at War, which is set in Yugoslavia/Croatia during the Yugoslav Wars, and really liked it. There have to be other things like that but I'm honestly not knowledgeable enough about current events and politics to point you to anything.
Chinook wrote: "Even the more random shelf names on my favourite book (recently, anyway, it’s a hard choice to make) aren’t leading me to anything I haven’t already heard of, so I’d have to bend the prompt to at t..."If this makes the top, I will go with a book I have not read rather than limit myself to have not heard of. For me, a new-to-me book is one I have not read.
Yes. If you read books and belong to something like this site, the chances are you have heard of them, even if not specifically looked for them.
I'm glad that xenofiction was renominated. I found a book that would not only work, but also sounds fun. Thanks to the 'top shelf' prompt, I learned to use a new to me GR feature and a way to make even the prompts that I disliked doable.I would be ok with almost any of these prompts, but really like the Billy Joel and Australian Author prompts.
Jillian wrote: "Chinook wrote: "Even the more random shelf names on my favourite book (recently, anyway, it’s a hard choice to make) aren’t leading me to anything I haven’t already heard of, so I’d have to bend th..."I interpreted it to mean one I had not read. I had planned to vote for it, but I need to reconsider. I do not like to read books I have never heard of, unless someone I trust recommends them, when there are so many that I want to read and haven't gotten to yet. I think this just went from an up-vote to a down-vote for me.
Sara wrote: "Jillian wrote: "Chinook wrote: "Even the more random shelf names on my favourite book (recently, anyway, it’s a hard choice to make) aren’t leading me to anything I haven’t already heard of, so I’d..."I also believe that "new to you" means a book you haven't read. I think it's one of those that could be interpreted however each individual chooses. I would say you could leave it on your up-votes and just use a book you haven't read.
Sara wrote: "Jillian wrote: "Chinook wrote: "Even the more random shelf names on my favourite book (recently, anyway, it’s a hard choice to make) aren’t leading me to anything I haven’t already heard of, so I’d..."In the suggestion thread, Laura said the intention was for it to be a book you had not heard of before the search. In all my challenges “new to me” means you have not read the book before so since the prompt was written as “new to me” rather than “have not heard of” I see no problem using a book you have not read but have heard of. I think it would work as a BIO option to not have heard of it.
I’ll likely upvoted because I had fun looking at books.
Mod
Steve wrote: "Chinook wrote: "I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?
Like, Newfoundland and Hawaii come up on lists of countries that no l..."
Hmmm. I mean, neither was rebranded or merely changed from one sort of political arrangement to another - both were absorbed into another country, considerably later than the formation of those countries.
Newfoundland didn’t become a part of Canada until 1949 and sent it’s own military units to fight in WWI, separate from both Canada and the UK, though like Canada it was a Dominion if the UK at the time.
Hawaii didn’t just switch from being a monarchy to a republic, it stopped being a country and not by choice, either.
So, since every country and empire that once existed clearly goes on to either join something else or split into bits, I guess I’m even more confused now.
Emily wrote: "Just checking to see if the poll was delayed? It says that the link should be posted around 8 AM Eastern (which was 4 hours ago), but I don't know if they meant PM or what."I've been wondering that, too. I keep checking back & refreshing, but still no poll. ???
Chinook wrote: "Steve wrote: "Chinook wrote: "I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?
Like, Newfoundland and Hawaii come up on lists of count..."
I am with you, Chinook. It doesn't make sense to me that countries that were absorbed into the Soviet Union count but countries that were absorbed into the U.S. or Canada do not.
There aren't any hard no's for me in this batch. I could find something (or am already likely to read something) that I would enjoy for any/all of these prompts.Definite up-votes for me:
-Author who passed away (I was shattered to discover that Dave Duncan passed late last year. I have a whole stack of his that I'm reading through - and he'd also count towards the Canadian author prompt)
-Mashup genre
-Australian author
-Xenofiction
-Favorite genre, but somehow different (scifi/fantasy/horror poetry could be interesting, could also try a subgenre that I tend to avoid or have not yet sampled)
Now to figure out how to spend my remaining three up-votes...
For the “country that doesn’t exist anymore” prompt, it doesn’t have to be historical fiction or non-fiction. Books that were contemporary and written when those countries existed would work (e.g. thrillers set in the USSR and East Germany, which there are many). I read a YA/fantasy/time travel book, The Girl with the Red Balloon, that is set in East Berlin. It’s a challenging prompt but I like it and will probably vote for it.
Sara wrote: "Chinook wrote: "Steve wrote: "Chinook wrote: "I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?
Like, Newfoundland and Hawaii come up o..."
The way I'm understanding it is that it depends on when it's set, so anything set in Hawaii before 1898 would work. For Newfoundland maybe anything before 1949? For the countries that were part of the USSR anything set between 1920s-1991 would work, but nothing before (unless you go pretty far back) or after. But maybe I'm missing something.
Was the poll posted and then deleted? I thought I saw it on my phone and just got on a computer to vote.
Jillian wrote: "Was the poll posted and then deleted? I thought I saw it on my phone and just got on a computer to vote."Yes. I did the same thing. I'm guessing there must a technical glitch or something.
dalex wrote: "Jillian wrote: "Was the poll posted and then deleted? I thought I saw it on my phone and just got on a computer to vote."Yes. I did the same thing. I'm guessing there must a technical glitch or s..."
I already voted so... haha.
Sorry everyone, it was posted earlier but there was an issue the mods needed to resolve so I think that’s why it’s been deleted. Well make sure that all votes cast before the link was deleted are counted and hopefully we’ll have the poll online again soon. Sorry for the confusion.
Bryony wrote: "Sorry everyone, it was posted earlier but there was an issue the mods needed to resolve so I think that’s why it’s been deleted. Well make sure that all votes cast before the link was deleted are c..."No problem!
Mod
Goodreads poll related to multi-week prompts: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
9th Mini-Poll: https://www.surveymoz.com/s/5EF0B/
Results will close at 8:00pm EST on Wednesday, August 14.
Not a great list for me. I ended up with only 3 upvotes and 5 downvotes. I chose the book about friendship and the book published in 2020 since those were the two that immediately jumped out at me, and then also voted for man/woman/boy/girl in the title because I have tons of options for that on my TBR.I downvoted the two settings prompts because I feel like we have a lot of setting prompts already. I also am a bit tired of "set somewhere you would like to live" (no offence to whoever suggested it) because I've done that prompt multiple times in challenges of the years. I also downvoted the author who passed away within the last 5 years because I didn't see anyone there that I really strongly wanted to read. For my last two downvotes, I picked the mashup genre and Earth Day, although I don't hate either of them. They just seemed harder for me to find options for.
Ellie wrote: "'m not a big fan of the top-shelf/genre ones. I mean I read quite widely in my preferred genres, so I'm not really sure what I'm meant to do. Does science fiction poetry exist?"I can recommend Dark Star 😉
Sophie wrote: "I can recommend Dark Star ."Oh I think I have a copy of that somewhere, I forgot it was free verse.
First time I voted 4 and 4 since we changed the voting system! I upvoted published in 2020 since I wish it was a default, the Abe List in hopes of getting an author list on the poll. I also upvoted Earth Day since I like the 2020 connection and the woman/man/girl/boy since I like how simple it is and have a lot of books that would work!
The book published in the current year prompt is one I consistently hate, every year. I can't plan ahead for it, it's going to require me to get a new book instead of reducing my TBR, it's unlikely I'll be able to read in my preferred format of paperback, if I decide to go for something I really want to read it'll be expensive, if I get something because it's cheaper I won't really want to read it, and it tends to nag on the edges of my mind all year, "urgh, I've ought to find something for that".Looking at the prompts we already have for 2020, they can all be filled by books published that year, except (I think) the NYT one.
I'm really interested in trying to see it from the other perspective, why do so many people have so much love for it? I haven't voted yet, so I'm genuinely hoping someone can make me see the light, so I might not downvote it, or at least won't dread it so much.
Chinook wrote: "Steve wrote: "Chinook wrote: "I think I’m overthinking the country that no longer exists. Does it have to also be historical fiction then?
Like, Newfoundland and Hawaii come up on lists of count..."
I would go with a country that is no longer a country now. Newfoundland would fit. I read a fictional story about it's first premier that was interesting. I learned quite a bit about the politics of the time. We were not as nice as we are portrayed.
I really like the Canadian author prompt. My challenge for AtYB was to read just Canadian authors. If people are looking for more suggestions you can check out my list, or I have a shelf dedicated to Canadian authors.
Marie- WRT your question about why people like the current year prompt, I’d say it’s because a lot of us anticipate new releases and enjoy reading recently published books! I usually have a few Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) from GR Giveaway wins to read. The rest of my new books come from the library. I don’t care if the prompt wins or not so I didn’t vote for it. I feel like I can fit those books in other prompts. But, it is an easy prompt to fill, for some of us.
Mod
I read a lot of new releases but I’m still not a huge fan of the prompt. Like you said, I can fit 2020 books into other prompts with actual challenge. So then this prompt ends up being more of a freebie.
Could I suggest that the link be added to the first post on this thread, as it generally is. I had a hard time finding it and someone else might have the same difficulty (or maybe it is another of my brain freeze moments).
I like the extra push to read a book from 2020 because every year I add a lot of new releases to my TBR but don't usually get around to reading them until a year or two later. Then when thee Goodreads Choice Nominees come out I've only read 5 or 6 new releases that year and always wish I had gotten to more. So this prompt for me is an excuse to actually get to a new book I'm excited about right away.
Sara wrote: "Could I suggest that the link be added to the first post on this thread, as it generally is. I had a hard time finding it and someone else might have the same difficulty (or maybe it is another of ..."Only Katie can add it there. She must not currently be able to get online to get it post there. As soon as she can, I'm sure she will update the 1st post.
I tend to throw a few new releases on my holds list on Overdrive. Sure, the waits can be long, but at some point I’m going to get the book during the year. I’ve seen six month waits sometimes, but usually it’s closer to six or so weeks. If I wanted to read in order, that would be harder to manage, but in general I can fill the prompt without having to spend any money.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (other topics)Dark Star (other topics)
Girl at War (other topics)
Doctor Who: Now We Are Six Hundred: A Collection of Time Lord Verse (other topics)
An Eloquence of Time and Space: An Unauthorized Doctor Who Poem Book (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Agatha Christie (other topics)Shari Lapena (other topics)
Dave Duncan (other topics)
Shari Lapena (other topics)
Chevy Stevens (other topics)
More...
I'm not a big fan of the top-shelf/genre ones. I mean I read quite widely in my preferred genres, so I'm not really sure what I'm meant to do. Does science fiction poetry exist?
I currently have 6 upvotes and one downvote, just deciding what to do with that final one.
Last night I went home and listened to We Didn't Start the Fire loads with my boyfriend, trying to memorise the lyrics. It's hard! But now I kinda want a side project to read books for the whole song.