[2020] 10th Mini Poll Results

[Sophie]

°~Amy~° wrote: "I really think we do better when we have a good variety of prompts in every minipoll. "

That's my thought exactly.

[Shelley]

Anastasia wrote: "Sometimes I am not using all of my votes. Do other people use all of their votes every time?"

I pretty much only upvote and only use the full 8 if I actually like all 8. There are certainly ones that I'm not a fan of, but my thinking is that it's supposed to be a challenge, so if I don't like the prompt, it will probably still be good for me to stretch myself.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

I've used all my votes most rounds, but occasionally only use 6 or 7 if I just don't have strong feelings about a lot of prompts.

I also didn't even vote on the poll about how many prompts we should have in a round because I really don't have an opinion. :-)

I was disappointed by only one winner, but I wouldn't have thought it was a problem with the system unless it became a trend. (Though I also have no problem with tweaking the system to see if it works better. Hence, no vote.)

[Edie]

viemag wrote: "I was a little surprised to just see one winner, but those are the results. I think we should just keep on going and not worry too much about figuring out how to skew the voting results. We are hal..."

At the rate of picking one new prompt a week, we will finish the list in mid-February! That is going to make the planners of the group crazy. Maybe it's just me, but the process seems to be going VERY slowly this year. Maybe it's time to let the close calls in or include the top two or three picks from every vote.
From my perspective there are often lots of acceptable prompts in any voting week. When the results are posted there are lots of comments from folks who are disappointed prompts they liked didn't get in. I think it is time to have more winning prompts each week.

On the plus side, this glacial process is generating a huge list for the folks with do a challenge with rejected prompts.

[Katie]

Almost all the voters use all 8 votes in every poll, like definitely more than 90%.

[Katie]

I didn't vote in the number of suggestions poll either, Raquel. I don't care either way. I do care about using all my votes however I want though, so I voted there.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

The mods have discussed the potential of compiling all prompts together (using the totals for every poll) then pulling out all of those close calls and making a poll from it.

In that case, the prompts would go up against each other between polls rather than then being isolated in a single poll.

Would people be interested in that?

[°~Amy~°]

Laura wrote: "The mods have discussed the potential of compiling all prompts together (using the totals for every poll) then pulling out all of those close calls and making a poll from it.

In that case, the pr..."

Sorry, confused. So we would have one poll that is all close calls from previous polls? Would those that don't win and are not in the bottom on that poll then be allowed in again in future polls?

[Jillian]

I’d be interested in a close call poll.

[Martha]

Yes, I'm interested in a close call poll between polls.

[Chinook]

I like that idea. Clearly the close calls are popular. It would be interesting to see them up against each other.

[dalex]

Laura wrote: "The mods have discussed the potential of compiling all prompts together (using the totals for every poll) then pulling out all of those close calls and making a poll from it."

So would this just be the close calls that have been announced or would it also include some that were close but not close enough to be announced as a close call?

We really haven't had very many announced close calls yet. Only 9. And one of those did make it through (Olympics) and one is a duplicate (pub 2020) so there are only 7 to put into a poll.

[°~Amy~°]

dalex wrote: "Laura wrote: "The mods have discussed the potential of compiling all prompts together (using the totals for every poll) then pulling out all of those close calls and making a poll from it."

So wou..."

That is my question too. Here is the list I have of close-calls that were announced:

CLOSE CALLS:
Mini-poll 1:
A book related to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan ***Has now made the list

Mini-poll 4:
A book with a title of 5 or more words

Mini-poll 6:
A book on the longlist for the Women's Prize in Fiction for any year

One of the "most anticipated" books of 2020 (e.g. The Millions, Book Riot, LitHub, etc.)

Mini-poll 7:
A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author

A book from the "1000 Books by Women" list ***Wenow have a list of all female authors

Mini-poll 8:
Three books linked by the saying "Beauty, Brains, Brawn” second place “winner”

Mini-poll 9:
A book written by an author who passed away in the last five years

A book related to Earth Day

A book published in 2020

That's a very short list. Where would the rest of the 15/20 prompts for the minipoll come from?

[Jillian]

Amy, thank you posting the current close call list. For some reason, I thought there were more. Now, I’m not in such favor unless there are more choices. Some of the prompts are too similar and not ones I liked. Most anticipated list and 2020.

[°~Amy~°]

Jillian wrote: "Amy, thank you posting the current close call list. For some reason, I thought there were more. Now, I’m not in such favor unless there are more choices. Some of the prompts are too similar and not..."

I thought there would be more too. Seeing how few there are, I think it would be better to just let them be suggested normally in the regular mini-polls, if people truly want them.

[Lizzy]

I rarely use all of my votes.

[Jill]

I tend to use the 4/4 vote But I must admit my enthusiasm is flagging now and we are only half-way through.

[Rachel]

I'm glad others were asking about the close call poll, because I wasn't quite sure what exactly Laura meant. I was at work when I saw the message so couldn't ask for clarification at the time.

I'm not sure a close call only poll makes sense at this point since there have been so few, and several end up making it through when re-submitted. Of course, I think I'm probably misunderstanding something because Laura mentioned "between polls" and I can't quite figure out how that's supposed to work.

[Chinook]

I think it would be great to do it either

1) As an extra poll this week, alongside the normal poll of suggestions. Since it’s a shorter list, you could scale down the votes as well.

Or 2) those all are automatically on a poll, which is then open for suggestions to make up 15. Then it’s voted on normally.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I'm working on compiling the data right now. Typically we enter the data into a spreadsheet and total the responses (top - bottom = total).

But the idea is that we would compile the complete list and sort based on the total for all prompts. So totals for prompts from poll 1 would be compared to totals from poll 2, 3, 4, etc. Typically we don't compare numbers between polls like that.

So then we would subtract out the winners and the poll would be composed of the top 20 prompts from all polls. In some ways, our current results are dependent upon which prompts happen to go against each other in a specific poll.

A compilation poll would allow for all prompts that did reasonably well to go against each other.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Oh I love that idea, Laura. Do you mean that you would take the top 20 suggestions that didn't make it on the list? Or look at the top 20 and just include the ones that weren't on the list in the suggestions poll for next week?

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I thought it would be a separate poll, compiled of the top 20 suggestions that haven't won from previous polls.

[Jillian]

Laura wrote: "I'm working on compiling the data right now. Typically we enter the data into a spreadsheet and total the responses (top - bottom = total).

But the idea is that we would compile the complete list..."

That sounds like a better idea than just the current close calls. I'm guessing it is even possible some of the current close calls may not make the list.

If we decide to have a close call poll. I think it would be best not to have a bottom. Since, the ideas and not really bottom prompts just the bottom of the top 15-20 close call votes.

[°~Amy~°]

Laura wrote: "I'm working on compiling the data right now. Typically we enter the data into a spreadsheet and total the responses (top - bottom = total).

But the idea is that we would compile the complete list..."

Hm, interesting but I still think that any prompts from previous polls can be suggested again. There's no need to give them a leg up by giving them their own poll. We are getting into the second half of voting now so I suspect re-subs will be more common now that we are running low on "new" ideas.

I guess overall, I'm just not a fan of forcing things to happen. If it's meant to be, it will happen in the normal flow of things.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Amy, I'd agree, but, if I'm recalling correctly, we are behind on the list compared to where we were last year, which is why we shortened the waiting period. And we still had a week with just one winner.

So I think it's up to the mods to make sure the list is completed in the time we need it completed, and if that means having a poll with just our top suggestions, then I'm all for it... and we already know people like these, and would probably second them if they were suggested again.

I agree that we shouldn't have any eliminated from being suggested again though, since they weren't in the bottom on a normal poll.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

As of the 10th mini-poll, that would include:

- A book you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to
- A book published in 2020
- A book with a title of 5 or more words
- A book written by an author who passed away in the last five years
- A book related to one of the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell)
- Three books linked by the saying "Beauty, Brains, Brawn”
- A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
- Three books in the same genre from different countries
- A book from the "1000 Books by Women" list
- A book related to Earth Day
- A book where the main character is an immigrant
- A book featuring an otherworldly presence (alien, ghost, god, character from a dream, monster, person from another realm, etc)
- Roll the Genre Generator twice, pick one of those two options and read a book in that genre
- A book by a Canadian author
- A book about friendship
- A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
- A book with more than 20 letters in the title
- A book with an ensemble cast
- A book with water on the cover
- A book by an author not from the Anglosphere (English-speaking nations that share cultural & historical ties to the UK)
- A book about a weird or unusual subject "
- A book whose title contains an honorific (Mr., Mrs., Doctor, Lord, Lady, etc.)

[Adjusted due to ties)

Now, if we chose to go purely by the number of 'up-votes', that would be:

- A book written by an author who passed away in the last five years
- A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
- A book featuring an otherworldly presence (alien, ghost, god, character from a dream, monster, person from another realm, etc)
- A book published in 2020
- Three books linked by the saying "Beauty, Brains, Brawn”
- A book on the longlist for the Women's Prize in Fiction for any year
- A book from the "1000 Books by Women" list
- A book you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to
- A mystery novel by a person of color
- A book from an American Library Association’s Notable Books List
- One of the ""most anticipated"" books of 2020 (e.g. The Millions, Book Riot, LitHub, etc.)
- A book related to a NASA mission name
- A western
- A book related to Earth Day
- Three “own voices” books, from any marginalized group, inspired by the colors of the rainbow
- A fantasy book
- A book where the main character is an immigrant
- Roll the Genre Generator twice, pick one of those two options and read a book in that genre
- A winner of a foreign literary prize
- A book related to the 1920s

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I would say go with the top polling ones, not the ones with the most upvotes (because downvotes matter!).

I would 100% use all 8 of my votes on upvotes on if that first list was a poll haha!

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

It's not a matter of rushing the list, in my opinion. I think we have to keep in my mind that a prompt's chances are affected by the prompts that it goes up against in its particular poll. We saw that in the most recent poll since so many cover prompts were included and they potentially split the vote.

So if you have a poll where you happen to love 10 prompts, you can only vote for 8 of them. Then another poll, you may only like 6 so you can vote for all of them. A prompt has better chances of getting in in some ways, depending on which poll it's in. And vice versa.

If we do a poll where they're truly pitted all against one another then it gives them all a fair shot. If a prompt didn't do well enough to be in that top 20 then it's likely it wouldn't have made it in, no matter which poll it appeared in.

[Jillian]

Maybe we could have another mini poll to vote on having a close call vote and if yes then which list.

[Lin]

I’m in favor of a close call poll. There has been some really good prompts that have not made the final list.

[Nadine in NY]

I'd be fine if you just put ALL those categories on the final list and called it a day without even voting again!! they are all great categories.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

I'd love revoting on all the close call prompts on the first list! The second list is okay too, but I agree that the down votes should be taken into account.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

The only benefit I could see with including the upvoted prompts is that some people may not put a prompt in their bottom in a re-vote. For instance, if it would have come later in the process or if they had known there were more options for a prompt (since more discussion occurred in the results).

If we combined the lists for the up-votes and the totals, given that many of them over lap, we would have 32 prompts:

A book about a weird or unusual subject
A book about friendship
A book by a Canadian author
A book by an author not from the Anglosphere (English-speaking nations that share cultural & historical ties to the UK)
A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
A book featuring an otherworldly presence (alien, ghost, god, character from a dream, monster, person from another realm, etc)
A book from an American Library Association’s Notable Books List
A book from the "1000 Books by Women" list
A book on the longlist for the Women's Prize in Fiction for any year
A book published in 2020
A book related to a NASA mission name
A book related to Earth Day
A book related to one of the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell)
A book related to the 1920s
A book where the main character is an immigrant
A book whose title contains an honorific (Mr., Mrs., Doctor, Lord, Lady, etc.)
A book with a title of 5 or more words
A book with an ensemble cast
A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
A book with more than 20 letters in the title
A book with water on the cover
A book written by an author who passed away in the last five years
A book you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to
A fantasy book
A mystery novel by a person of color
A western
A winner of a foreign literary prize
One of the "most anticipated" books of 2020 (e.g. The Millions, Book Riot, LitHub, etc.)
Roll the Genre Generator twice, pick one of those two options and read a book in that genre
Three “own voices” books, from any marginalized group, inspired by the colors of the rainbow
Three books in the same genre from different countries
Three books linked by the saying "Beauty, Brains, Brawn”

[Jillian]

I think I got these right.

These are the prompts on both lists
- A book written by an author who passed away in the last five years
- A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
- A book featuring an otherworldly presence (alien, ghost, god, character from a dream, monster, person from another realm, etc)
- A book published in 2020
- Three books linked by the saying "Beauty, Brains, Brawn”
- A book from the '1000 Books by Women' list
- A book you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to
- A book related to Earth Day
- A book where the main character is an immigrant
- Roll the Genre Generator twice, pick one of those two options and read a book in that genre

1st list only
- A book with a title of 5 or more words
- A book related to one of the five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell)
- Three books in the same genre from different countries
- A book about friendship
- A book with flowers or greenery on the cover
- A book by a Canadian author
- A book with more than 20 letters in the title
- A book with an ensemble cast
- A book with water on the cover
- A book whose title contains an honorific (Mr., Mrs., Doctor, Lord, Lady, etc.)

2nd list only
- A book on the longlist for the Women's Prize in Fiction for any year
- A mystery novel by a person of color
- A book from an American Library Association’s Notable Books List
- One of the 'most anticipated' books of 2020 (e.g. The Millions, Book Riot, LitHub, etc.)
- A book related to a NASA mission name
- A western
- Three “own voices” books, from any marginalized group, inspired by the colors of the rainbow
- A fantasy book
- A winner of a foreign literary prize
- A book related to the 1920s

[Martha]

I like both lists and would be in favor of a poll so that either list would get a chance for another vote (or just putting them all on one list since there is some overlap between lists).

[Chinook]

Let’s do it! It’s fun and a new voting thing - and I’d be super choirs to see how it all plays out!

I have always enjoyed the way that voting gets twigged as we go, because the experimental nature of it really appeals to me.

[Katie]

Chinook wrote: "Let’s do it! It’s fun and a new voting thing"

That was the exact phrase I used when Laura brought it up to the mods; I think it would be fun & new.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Throw them all in a list and maybe give us 10 or 12 votes to distribute? Since there's so many prompts?

[Kathryn]

I'd be happy to have a poll based on the first list of close calls. However, if lots of people love lots of different categories, the votes may still be widely spread, and it may still be that there are only one or two clear winners. Or would we have more votes - especially if the list of 32 was used?

Although I'm not a huge fan of the second list or of combining the two - I think my votes were probably some of the downvotes on a lot of the categories that are on that list and not the other, since I'm not a fan of lists or prizes or westerns or fantasy!

[Sesia]

Raquel wrote: "I'd love revoting on all the close call prompts on the first list! The second list is okay too, but I agree that the down votes should be taken into account."

I agree on both counts: revoting on close call prompts from the 1st list, please.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I tend to agree with Kathryn... I'd rather see a shorter list with 8 votes and none of the ones that were on the upvote only list. If they had enough downvotes to knock them off, then they were in the true "close call" category.

But maybe a small poll could help decide this?

[Chinook]

Yes, I think that would be perfect. Super long list, extra votes. And then we can all debate the results and what that means for the technique etc to our heart’s content after.

[Jillian]

I’d prefer all the prompts or the 2nd list.

[Nicole]

I love the idea of a close calls list. Let's do it!

[Nadine in NY]

Chinook wrote: "Yes, I think that would be perfect. Super long list, extra votes. And then we can all debate the results and what that means for the technique etc to our heart’s content after."


LOL that should keep us busy for a little while :-)

[Perri]

Since we ended up getting a list of women authors, I wonder if we need another one?

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Please move discussion related to the close calls poll to this new thread:

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

[Hannah]

I would love to vote on these prompts again. I think it is important to take into account the downvotes, so I think we need to either just vote on the first shorter list and have 8 votes as usual, or, vote on the long, combined list and have 12 votes. I’m happy to have a small poll to help decide this, as we would then get a better idea of what more members of the group wanted rather than just those of us who are commenting here.