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[2020] Voting for 11th Mini Poll
ladymurmur wrote: "Peter wrote: "For the first responder - here are some I can think of/find. Some of them may fall outside the realm of the typical view of police/fire/ambulance but working as a 911 dispatcher, ther..."And, now I've added Extreme Medical Services to my TBR. Thank you for the great recommendation! And, you're not supposed to be adding to my TBR. (giggle)
Okay, trying to track down some options for the 7 Wonders prompt:Grand Canyon (list is not Grand Canyon specific, but for that general area, and includes some the seem to be specifically set at the Grand Canyon): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Northern Lights (mostly northern lights, but also includes aurora australis): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Mount Everest: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
Taj Mahal: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Machu Picchu (generally about Peru--at least one book that specifically fits): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Lighthouse of Alexandria (books set in the city generally): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Pyramid of Giza: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
I don’t like the audiobook option for the reasons others have offered. I do occasionally listen to them but usually switch to reading the book, if I like it. I find them too hard to follow and stay engaged. I might vote for a book that won or was nominated for an Audie award. First responder - first book that comes to my mind is The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Charon.
Mode of transportation- I like this one since I have lots of books on my bookshelves with ships, spaceships, submarines, airplanes, and cars.
I listen to tons of audio books but I have a long work commute so it keeps me from road rage. Ha! I find it much harder to concentrate on an audio book outside of the car.I hadn't thought about spaceships as a mode of transportation or about a crime thriller being a survival story so thanks for those suggestions. That gives me lots to think on.
Sesia wrote: "And, now I've added Extreme Medical Services to my TBR. Thank you for the great recommendation! And, you're not supposed to be adding to my TBR. (giggle)"This is my Very Innocent Face(tm). :-)
Re: mode of transportation, I know I also have at least 2 books with bicycles on the covers! I’m out of town and trying to picture what’s on my bookshelves. Next year my focus has to be on reading books I own!
I love the audiobook prompt because I love audiobooks, and I confess I had never considered the accessibility concern. Of course many sight-impaired people rely on audiobooks. Which lead me to realize: cover prompts are not accessible to a blind reader. I suppose someone could verbally describe a cover and then a blind reader could choose the book, but that still leaves past challenge prompts (both here & popsugar) "book you read only because you love the cover" or "book with an ugly cover," etc)
Nadine wrote: "I love the audiobook prompt because I love audiobooks, and I confess I had never considered the accessibility concern. Of course many sight-impaired people rely on audiobooks. Which lead me to re..."
I think before we would need blind readers input on what they can and cannot do challenges because of covers . Before, ruling cover prompts out. I do not recall anyone mentioning that they are unable to do cover prompts. There are some members who do not like them for various reasons. Unlike, an audiobooks prompt (though I think it is being changed to make it more inclusive) which require a format. For a book with a cover does not require any format to be read.
I work for a company who has a good number of visually impaired employees. For them to navigate the websites they require special training and a special program that reads everything to them. I definitely wouldn’t want to exclude anyone from being able to participate but knowing that I’m not sure how many visually impaired persons would be on GR.
Mod
https://www.surveymoz.com/s/VMPNU/
4 up and 4 down again for me Some more I'm not keen on but I will just hope for the best.
this has probably been answered in a previous poll's comments, but how do I get to my profile address in the app pls?
There's some amazing software around these days that can analyse a digital image and describe what's in it. I've used my phone to identify plants from just a photo before with Google lens. I do think audiobook is harder to get round if you cannot hear, than a cover prompt if you cannot see.
Wyatt and I had an interesting conversation about whether or not the military could be considered first responders. (He was in the Air Force.)He says that the coast guard and the National Guard definitely are and that since intelligence done by all groups might be used during a crisis like a terrorist attacked, you could make the argument, but normally he’d say it isn’t really a first responder.
I figure it could be stretched to fit military personnel then, though personally I’d want to read something where they were actually first responding to something then.
I’m not seeing much I like for the Seven Wonders, which is too bad because it’s an interesting idea. If it wins, I think I’d read a book set in the period of the ancient wonders rather than in the location, but setting does encompass both location and time, so there’s that.
Mod
Here’s your link:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2...
You could also just put Sesia
Yay, vote submitted! Thank you again Mod Laura!
I surprised myself by ending up with 5 up votes and 3 downvotes. My initial impression of the list was that there was nothing I particularly cared for, but also nothing I hated. I ended up voting more along the lines of which ones fit best with some of the books I was already thinking I might read.I voted for the survival theme since there are so many options for how to fulfill that, and BBB because that was my favourite of the multi-week suggestions previously, and I wouldn't mind having it added to the list.
I also voted for mode of transportation on the cover after looking at my TBR and noticing how many books had cars, bikes, etc. It seemed pretty easy to fulfill with something I was already interested in. I also voted for Australian/Canadian/New Zealand author, although I don't quite get the connection between those three countries. I have quite a few Canadian and Australian authors on my list. I also voted for the historical fiction because it is a genre I enjoy but need a bit of a push to read, although I debated this one for a while because it seemed kind of like another setting prompt.
I downvoted metafiction, 7 Wonders of the World, and the audiobook. The first two were because I found very limited options, and the audiobook was a downvote for me because it's just not a format that I tend to enjoy.
I like the 7 wonders. There are at least 2 books on my TBR that take place in Niagara Falls.
Anastasia wrote: "I like the 7 wonders. There are at least 2 books on my TBR that take place in Niagara Falls."I was just discussing a book set in ALL of the 7 wonders with a friend list night. Do you think I could remember the name of the book OR the author right now? Of course not. lol
The Canadian/NZ/Australia connection is basically just English speaking Commonwealtj countries. We also all still have the Queen of England as part of our govt set-up.
I have 3 up and 5 down. The three that I upvoted are:
1. Australian/Canadian/NZ author (I'm still trying to read an author born in every Canadian and every Australian territory/state)
2. A book about books (because I like books? lol)
3. Survival (I read a lot of dystopian so that works for me)
ladymurmur wrote: "The Extreme Medical Services series would count - protagonist is an EMT/ambulance driver."I don't know what it says about me that the first book I've seen about a first responder that I would actually like to read is an urban fantasy.
I appreciate that audiobooks was reworded to be inclusive, but I listen to books daily so there was no challenge to it. Books about books has been done to death so downvoted that, too. I felt an immediate resistance to a metafiction. I voted for the BBB prompt as I had voted for it before and was shocked it didn't win. Also liked a book you see someone else reading. I work in an academic library and it will be fun to spy on coworkers in the staff lounge.
I either love or hate a cover prompt, and I loved geometric pattern and transportation mode. The unemployed prompt seems like it could be interesting so I went for that one, too.
No comment on the quality of the book, but there's this: Seven Deadly WondersI haven't read it, but it looks to be comparable to a Dan Brown novel.
I only used three votes this time - 1 up (southern fiction) and 2 down (metafiction and 7 wonders - I couldn't find anything I liked for either of them). The rest I just didn't care about one way or the other (not sure if that is me or the prompts!) or were gimmes since I'd be reading something that would fit the category regardless of whether or not it was in the challenge - historical fiction, audiobook, seen someone else reading, author from Australia, Canada or NZ.
Please, no more books about books. I hate those passionately.
Just voted 5 up and 3 down, which tends to be my usual spread. I voted for the survival prompt because I love that it is a content/genre type prompt and can be KIS with my usual thriller, or BIO with the themes others have mentioned. I also of course liked the BBB multi-prompt and I also had to vote for a geometric cover because I like cover prompts and this felt unique. The book you saw someone else reading seems fun and fills a different category for the list as well. Finally I surprised myself by voting for the historical fiction prompt. I have never really liked historical fiction but I have only really read WW2 fiction, so I’d love to try other historical events/eras.
Well, I finally got my votes in, six up, two down. I had eight that I wanted to up-vote, so I had to go back and forth on which two I wanted to cut out. I wish I could have voted for all eight, but my two down-votes were ones I really don't want, so I had to make sure they got counted as nos. Now to sit back and wait for the results...
Mod
I'll definitely be voting for the historical fiction prompt (since I suggested it, and also love historical fiction). Also, I love the Beauty, Brains, Brawn prompt and will gladly vote for it again. I'm also throwing the geometric pattern in my tops, just because I'd like a cover prompt and this one is pretty unique.
I'm definitely downvoting southern lit and metafiction -- both are genres I kind of hate lol. I also have the 7 wonders, first responder, and job loss ones in there... I'm not really a fan of any of the prompts that I'm not upvoting, but these seem to be the hardest to research without giving anything away.
I went with 7 up votes and no down votes this round. The ones I just didn't vote for were either really interesting but hard to find options for, or plenty of options, but not interesting to me as prompts. So no matter what gets through I shouldn't be able to complain to much. (As long as we actually have winners anyway!)
I had 3 up, 5 down for this poll, but this one was definitely the least appealing. I voted down responders and survivors, since these interested me the least. The red/white cover was also a no, as the geometric design offered more options. My other two upvotes were for the 7 wonders and meta, which seemed to hold lots of possibilities. I only do audiobooks when it's the author's narration (Michelle Obama) or someone really well-suited for a book, like Bryan Cranston for The Things They Carried. And unemployment cuts way too close to home these days, so that was a big no for me.
Stacey wrote: "I had 3 up, 5 down for this poll, but this one was definitely the least appealing. I voted down responders and survivors, since these interested me the least. The red/white cover was also a no, as ..."Hoooold up. Bryan Cranston did an audiobook for TTTC?! That's perfect. I miss teaching that book.
Mod
I tend to prefer audiobooks read by voice actors. Most authors are not that great (except for reading their own memoirs).
Mod
I listen to mostly memoirs haha
Steve wrote: "Stacey wrote: "I had 3 up, 5 down for this poll, but this one was definitely the least appealing. I voted down responders and survivors, since these interested me the least. The red/white cover was..."Yes, he did, Steve, and it was terrific. It's definitely worth a listen. In fact TTTC and Michelle Obama's Becoming are the only audiobooks I've ever audioread.
Emily wrote: "Stacey, that's why I had suggested the prompt "A book where the audiobook is narrated by the author" a few polls ago... it allows for you to read the book (rather than listen to the audio), and I f..."I like that, Emily. Not sure if I voted for it, but I would.
Stacey wrote: "I had 3 up, 5 down for this poll, but this one was definitely the least appealing. I voted down responders and survivors, since these interested me the least. The red/white cover was also a no, as ..."Just to clarify - the prompt I suggested is not a book about a survivor(s). It's a book with the major literary theme of survival. It's subtle, but there is a difference.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks and I think the narrator makes a huge difference. There are some narrators that can make the book come alive, and others that just make it unbearable to listen to. Memoirs read by the author tend to be pretty good though because it make them more personal and almost conversational hearing the author's voice.
Stacey wrote: "Steve wrote: "Stacey wrote: "I had 3 up, 5 down for this poll, but this one was definitely the least appealing. I voted down responders and survivors, since these interested me the least. The red/w..."My favorite all time narration of an audiobook as been Jeremy Irons reading Lolita.
I agree Peter about a difference between survival and survivor. I see a lot of possibilities for that prompt and I voted for it! I voted 4 up 4 down. I hope the HF prompt wins. I need a push to read Pillars of the Earth.
Peter wrote: "Stacey wrote: "I had 3 up, 5 down for this poll, but this one was definitely the least appealing. I voted down responders and survivors, since these interested me the least. The red/white cover was..."Maybe I missed it, since I was out the whole evening the suggestion thread happened, but could you give some examples of what you mean by a survival theme? I've already voted for it either way, but I'm not sure I see the difference.
Feeling a bit sheepish.... Could a mod please check and see if I have already submitted my vote or not? I've spent a bunch of time thinking about this one, and showing a friend how the voting works - but I just don't remember if I actually SUBMITTED my vote or not! >_<
ladymurmur wrote: "Feeling a bit sheepish.... Could a mod please check and see if I have already submitted my vote or not? I've spent a bunch of time thinking about this one, and showing a friend how the voting wor..."
You did well to ask because your vote is not in! 😉
I'm on my phone so I can't link books properly. I'll try to remember to come back to link them later. I also can't tag spoilers so I'll give you warning now even though the book I mention has a fairly well know end.The literary theme of survival typically has an overarching concept of being faced with very difficult circumstances, traditionally in classic literature illustrated as natural forces. Think The Old Man and the Sea, The Call of the Wild, or more recently Life of Pi, or The Martian. Books with the theme of survival do not always end with the characters surviving though. A good example is (view spoiler)
By contrast books about survivors do not necessarily have a "theme" of survival. For example, take the recent popularity of domestic thrillers. They often have survivors and characters facing difficult circumstances but the theme throughout the book is usually not "survival" and would typically fall under another major literary theme - secrets and lies, jealousy, psychological manipulation, toxicity etc...
So while books with survivors can have the theme of survival, they do not always have that theme, while books with the them of survival don't need to have a story about a survivor. They definitely overlap, but are not quite the same thing.
You can add spoiler tags even on the app. Just type < spoiler > include your spoiler < / spoiler > without spaces. The same way you do on the computer. The only difference in the app is that you can’t see spoilers. (This is very annoying Goodreads please fix the app!!!!!!)
ahhh good to know. Although I can't go back and edit it on my phone so I'll fix it next time I'm a a computer. But now I know for next time, thanks!
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Call of the Wild (other topics)Life of Pi (other topics)
The Martian (other topics)
The Old Man and the Sea (other topics)
Into the Wild (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lauren Tarshis (other topics)Jim Kjelgaard (other topics)
I agree with this. You can read pretty much any prompt as an audio book....or an ebook....or a paperback etc