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[2020] Voting for 13th Mini Poll
message 51:
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Anastasia
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Sep 09, 2019 03:42AM
The Lambda Literary Award, while LGBTQ , is still American centric. I would normally vote for an LGBTQ prompt, I am tired of reading books that are about or for a US audience.
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Kathy wrote: "A mystery can be either option you mentioned, Dalex. Plus nonfiction, as Marie mentioned. I left it open to interpretation. Thanks for the clarification.
I was hoping this was a genre prompt but if it's really "a book in which a mystery is central to the plot" then that's just an extremely broad theme prompt. It would cover the many subgenres in the mystery genre as well just about any other genre so I'm much less inclined to vote for it is since it's very nearly a "read a book" prompt.
Rachel wrote: "I'm confused about the disaspora prompt. I think I understand what it means, but the list I was looking at included things like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and I don't really see how that fits."It's a goodreads list, which anyone can put anything on it, so it might very well not fit.
Reposting my previous post:
The definition of a diaspora is
1. the dispersion of people from their homeland and
2. a community formed by people who have exited or been removed from their homeland
So I'm guessing this prompt covers all books that are about
1. someone fleeing their home country or
2. someone living in a foreign county as an immigrant/refugee/etc. or
3. some combination of 1 and 2
Mod
Currently looking at voting up: history/historical fiction, Shakespeare in the title, Lambda award, and the last book published by an author (as much as I hate the wording, I really like the concept).
I only have two downvotes as of now, and both of them were immediate for me. I'll have to ponder the list some more and decide what I'll do with my two remaining votes.
Ellie wrote: "The favourite author one has a bit too much overlap with other prompts (2020 release and book by an author who wrote one of your favourites from 2018/19) but honestly it's easy enough for me to read another new release."I can certainly see how these categories could overlap but an argument can definitely be made that there are distinct difference between the three prompts.
Just as an example, Inland by Téa Obreht. The last book she published was in 2011, and I read it in 2011 or 2012, so it wouldn't count for an author who wrote a book I loved in 2018/19. And it was published last month so it wouldn't count for a 2020 publication. But it definitely counts for "the most recent publication by a favorite author."
My problem with favourite authors is that I jump on their books as soon as they come out! :)
What are some examples of historical landmarks? Are these places like battlefields? Famous people’s homes? Any major city? It feels too broad for me to get my arms around.
I’m definitely voting for the scientist prompt! It’s a little more challenging but will be fun to research. When I queried “books with scientists”, one of my favorite books popped up- Ship Fever by Andrea Barrett. There were several others that I own and haven’t read. A lot of sci-fi would work and it’s a great option for non-fiction, also. I like prompts that are broad enough to include non-fiction.
Nadine wrote: "What are some examples of historical landmarks? Are these places like battlefields? Famous people’s homes? Any major city? It feels too broad for me to get my arms around."To me a landmark is something that instantly lets me know where it is just by looking at it, so if I woke up there I would know exactly where I was. If I woke up in a battlefield, I would just know I was in a field, but if I was staring up at Big Ben, I'd know I was in London.
Not sure if that helps. There are some iconic landmarks, but also more personal ones.
Dictionary.com says a historical landmark is "a building or other place that is of outstanding historical, aesthetic, or cultural importance, often declared as such and given a special status (landmark designation), ordaining its preservation, by some authorizing organization."
Good point, a landmark must be identifiable. Is Big Ben historical?
I don’t think a historic landmark has to be immediately identifiable to you. I would include Civil War battle sites, for example. That was my first thought when I read the prompt.
Nadine wrote: "Good point, a landmark must be identifiable. Is Big Ben historical?"Both in age and the fact it's part of the Palace of Westminster which has seen much History.
When I went looking through my owned TBR book covers I came up with these two options for landmarks:
I had to look up both to be sure, but with Olivia Twist I immediately went 'oh, is that Big Ben?', which makes it seem like it was very recognizable despite being a small element in the cover.
With Tale of Two Cities I just searched for London landmarks, hoping they used a real/famous building, and I'm mostly sure it's the tower of London shown upside down on the cover.
I immediately thought of buildings for that prompt for some reason--Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty (I guess not technically a building, but on the scale of one), Golden Gate Bridge, Leaning Tower of Pisa... those are the kinds of things I was looking for.
If a broader genre bothers you, why not just treat it more narrowly? I don’t understand why that’s a reason to downvote, assuming you could find books you want to read that fit your narrower genre. There are tons of books that aren’t mysteries, so it isn’t a free prompt in my eyes!
Is there a place where we can find the prompts that have won to date for 2020? I’d like to see what is in so far before voting for this poll. Thanks!
Sophie, here's a link to the prompts that are currently on the 2020 list! They are listed in message 2.
I read a lot of fantasy, but I’ve always been a little fuzzy on exactly what “high fantasy” is. I’m not sure, but I think I don’t read much of it, which - if true - makes this an appealing challenge category for me. I found a few GR lists, but they don’t help me much because they all seem to list the same books (TolkienTolkienSandersonMartinTolkien)Are the following books from myTBR considered “high fantasy”?
Soldier of Arete
Soldier of Sidon
The Scar
Six of Crows
Sea Glass
(It’s just a weird coincidence that all my book ideas start with S!!!!)
Nadine wrote: "I read a lot of fantasy, but I’ve always been a little fuzzy on exactly what “high fantasy” is. I’m not sure, but I think I don’t read much of it, which - if true - makes this an appealing challeng..."From what I can find, it looks like Six of Crows and Sea Glass are shelved multiple times as high fantasy. I don't see the others on that list, but I haven't read them, so I can't be sure.
These definitions come from goodreads:High fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the real, or "primary" world. The secondary world is usually internally consistent but its rules differ in some way(s) from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or "real" world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements.
Epic Fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel world. It is most commonly considered to be the same genre as High Fantasy, since they share many of the same elements, but Epic Fantasy takes the story even farther, in a bigger and more epic way (e.g. the stakes are greater; the land/world is in peril; a great evil threatens the world; the conflict shakes all who dwell in the world of the story).
Nadine wrote: "I read a lot of fantasy, but I’ve always been a little fuzzy on exactly what “high fantasy” is. I’m not sure, but I think I don’t read much of it, which - if true - makes this an appealing challeng..."This is from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fa... but I think it gives a good idea of the difference between low and high fantasy.
"High fantasy is set in an alternative, fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the "real" or "primary" world.[2] This secondary world is usually internally consistent, but its rules differ from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary or real world, or a rational and familiar fictional world with the inclusion of magical elements."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_fan...
"Low fantasy or intrusion fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy fiction where magical events intrude on an otherwise normal world.[1][2] It thus contrasts with high fantasy stories, which take place in fictional worlds with their own sets of rules and physical laws."
With all that being said there is some blurring between the two. I have not read any of the books you listed.
Avery wrote: "Sophie, here's a link to the prompts that are currently on the 2020 list! They are listed in message 2."Thanks so much, Avery! I knew I had seen them at one point but just couldn’t remember where.
Nadine wrote: "I found a few GR lists, but they don’t help me much because they all seem to list the same books (TolkienTolkienSandersonMartinTolkien)..."This made me laugh. I'm pretty sure we all know these guys exist now, but they are always on the lists. *yawn*
I think if you stick to fantasy set wholly in a made up world you'll be on the right track (so Six of Crows, yes).
Here's a decent list of high fantasy books that goes beyond Martin and Tolkien:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Nadine wrote: "I read a lot of fantasy, but I’ve always been a little fuzzy on exactly what “high fantasy” is."According to Worlds Without End, "The term high fantasy (also epic fantasy) generally refers to fantasy that depicts an epic struggle between good and evil in a fantasy world, whether independent of or parallel to ours. The moral concepts in such tales take on objective status, and are not relative to the one making the judgement."
Books tagged as high fantasy on Worlds Without End can be viewed
HERE.
My personal definition of high fantasy is anything that is like what is often thought of as fantasy - Hero/Heroine sent on a Quest by a Wise Person plus great adventure, helpful sidekick(s), imaginary land and creatures, triumph over evil, happily ever after.
dalex wrote: "Kathy wrote: "A mystery can be either option you mentioned, Dalex. Plus nonfiction, as Marie mentioned. I left it open to interpretation. Thanks for the clarification.
I was hoping this was a ge..."
You're right. I almost said "a book from the mystery genre." I'm personally reading from the mystery genre, but I thought others might like the broadness of the prompt.
Voted. I went with 6 up and 2 down this time. I could make them work if they went through, but I'm not thrilled by them.There are 7 that I like a lot, but I went with my gut to narrow it down.
I will definitely want to see ATY Listopia lists for some of these to get more ideas.
The two lists from Dalex and Angie have convinced me to vote for the high fantasy prompt. Thanks!
Chrissy wrote: "Based on previous discussion, I’d also change it from “your favorite” to either “a favorite” or “one of your favorites” because many people (me included) don’t have a single favorite anything!"This cracked me up because my five year old has been really interested in favourites recently and is constantly asking me for mine. Like, mom, what’s your fourth favourite colour? What’s your favourite dinosaur? Who’s your favourite witch?
I tell you, I feel like I’m being to look to the depth of my being multiple times a day to answer her questions.
If it was last book published by an author you've read before or something instead of favourite, I would vote for it, but as soon as someone asks me my favourite book/author/anything, I'm instantly paralyzed by choice and cannot come up with a single name, so this will unfortunately be a down-vote for me.
Got my vote in, 7 up and 1 down. Now to sit and wait. Waiting is always the hardest part for me!
I voted and ended up 4/4. I kept changing my mind all yesterday and this morning. I'm glad I don't have to think about how to vote now.
I think if the most recent book by your favorite author gets in I’ll be interpreting it as “most recent I haven’t read”. I’ve read the most recently published by my favorite authors. It’s the back list titles I still need to read.
I’ve got bunches of favorite authors, and quite a few have new books coming out in 2020 that I’m really looking forward to reading!!! Plus, there are recent books I still haven’t read by other favorite authors! So, yes, I hope that category makes it in.(Sadly, though, I just discovered that one of my MOST favorite authors - Gene Wolfe - died in April. I am saddened at the loss, sadder still that I didn’t even know, and even sadder yet because I didnt really like his last book and was hoping he would write something else soon.)
Thought I had my votes all sorted but am currently rethinking. I was going to downvote high fantasy - not really my thing. Then I gave myself a talking to - “part of the point of doing a challenge is to push yourself out of your comfort zone” - and thought I wouldn’t vote for it one way or the other. Figured I’d steel myself to read the second LOTR (liked The Hobbit but reading the first LOTR didn’t inspire me to read anymore). And then I researched a bit, found a couple of books I’m almost excited to read (Uprooted and The Chronicle of Prydian - fond memories of hubby reading it to our kids, I heard snippets but have never read it myself) and am now seriously considering upvoting it. It would mean I’d use all my votes - something I haven’t done in several weeks.
The high fantasy lists from dalex & Angie are great! For anyone intimidated by the genre, there are plenty of options that are stand alone books or even novellas. (It even includes the basis for The Wizard of Oz.)
Martha wrote: "I just found another Book Riot list that might work for the religion prompt. Maybe even for a separate future prompt since it would fit with a Fall theme: https://bookriot.com/2017/04/18/100-m..."I was thinking the same thing for a future prompt. Something like "A book related to witches." Not only do I have books on my TBR where witches are main characters, but non-fictions ones with witch in the title that aren't actually about witches. (Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love & The Witches Are Coming)
I figure I would mention this here in case I missed the nomination period again.
I got an error the first time I voted so I did it again. Sorry if I double voted!
Joanne wrote: "If it was last book published by an author you've read before or something instead of favourite, I would vote for it, but as soon as someone asks me my favourite book/author/anything, I'm instantly paralyzed by choice and cannot come up with a single name, so this will unfortunately be a down-vote for me."Me too. Also, this prompt as it is worded in the poll gives us no choice at all. There is only one book that fits - the last or most recent book published by your one favourite author, assuming you can say who that is.
A lot of us have probably already read that book - perhaps quite recently if the author is still alive. So it's a very limiting prompt.
Nadine wrote: "What are some examples of historical landmarks? Are these places like battlefields? Famous people’s homes? Any major city? It feels too broad for me to get my arms around."I was thinking of reading something about Stonewall with the inn on the cover of this one gets in.
The nicest thing about having an overarching theme is that it really narrows down prompt options for me and I’m enjoying that as I plan a lot. So for me, it’s most recent book by my favourite transgender author - which makes it easier for me. Overall, I tend to claim Margaret Atwood as my fave, but I’m using her for the wedding prompts this year and read her most recent and there’s NO WAY I’m waiting to read The Testaments until January!
Nadine wrote: "What are some examples of historical landmarks? Are these places like battlefields? Famous people’s homes? Any major city? It feels too broad for me to get my arms around."I've seen a number of NYC and Paris landmarks on books, especially the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower.
Examples I have are:
Sarah wrote: "I got an error the first time I voted so I did it again. Sorry if I double voted!"You're all good. It only went through once.
Books with the Golden Gate Bridge:
Rosemary wrote: "Also, this prompt as it is worded in the poll gives us no choice at all. There is only one book that fits - the last or most recent book published by your one favourite author, assuming you can say who that is.A lot of us have probably already read that book - perhaps quite recently if the author is still alive. So it's a very limiting prompt"
LOL. I love your brain.
I don’t understand what the “favorite” prompt wasn’t reworded - I thought that was one of the reasons for the 24hour discussion period?
Mod
Even an author who passed away doesn't necessarily have a single "last" title. At least one of my favorite authors who passed away in the last year had books in the pipeline when he passed. If the "last book" prompt makes the list, and I decide to go with Dave Duncan as my favorite author, the title that qualifies might entirely depend on when in the year that I tackle the prompt!
On the subjects of landmarks, is that Manhattan Bridge on the cover of N.K. Jemisin's next novel?
It does look like Manhattan bridge. But the Empire State Building is on the right, Chrysler Building is on the left, so the view is from NJ. And there isn’t a bridge there from NJ. So I have no idea!? I’ve never stood in DUMBO, I’m not sure what the view looks like.But at any rate, the two buildings are iconic, so I guess they count as “historical landmarks” - tho I have no idea what role they may have played in history.
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