Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Archives
>
[2020] Voting for the 16th Mini-Poll
There a quite a few I’m interested in. There are are few that I’m unsure about but am looking forward to the discussion.
I'm happy with this list. I think there are a lot of great prompts to choose from!
I'm really excited about this list also. I'm hoping the child perspective one gets in and there are a lot of other great ones. This week I may have all upvotes.
I've got a few immediate upvotes and a few immediate downvotes.The book recommended by a family member is tricky for me as my family generally don't read....but if it were to include friends I could definitely do it (KIS option maybe). Ohh just had a thought, my cousin's wife is a self-published author - she would count...I may have just talked myself out of downvoting that one!
The other one I don't like is book you know the ending for. I generally don't do re-reads...too many good books to read. I think the only way I would get a book I know the ending for is if I had seen the movie first - but usually I read the book first. Or maybe if I read one of my childhood favourites to one of my kids.
My immediate upvotes are book with between 400-600 pages. Seems like I have quite a few books within this range, so good chance to knock one off.
Also book in diary format. I enjoy these types so it would be fun.
I'm not overly excited about this list again, but there are a few that I was immediately intrigued by. I really like the book related to witches, and the silhouette on the cover (especially because it's not limited to silhouettes of people).The geography/geology prompt and memoir/autobiographical fiction don't interest me much, but I'll have to do a bit of research to see what kinds of options are available.
I don't think there's anything I disfavor this week. I'm up-voting witches, geography, memoir/autobiographical fiction, and ancient world. I also like 400-600 pages since I read a few of these every year. I don't especially like title prompts so may use my 3 remaining votes for downvoting, but I know I can find something to read with every suggestion made this week so probably will vote 8 up and not vote against anything.
A pretty good list overall. My gut reaction is one or two downvotes and the rest upvotes (though I haven't narrowed down which ones),If the recommendation one was friends and family instead of just family, I could work with it. But I have a vastly different relationship with book than my family. I'll most likely downvote it as is.
I'm not sure what to do with the favorite food prompt. Do I pick a specific dish? A type of food? My favorite food is probably steak, so would I read a book set in Nebraska (which, if Google is to be believed, produces a lot of America's steaks). I just don't know. How are other people approaching this one?
I like the witches one. If you're not into fantasy, you can read historical fiction surrounding witch trials (I loved The Familiars which is about the Pendle witch trials) or a modern day "witch hunt".If you're intending on reading any of the Broken Earth books next year they would work for geology.
I'm not sure about the favourite food one. I don't really want to read Don Quixote but it amused me that it's the one thing that came up for books set where Manchego (one of my favourite cheeses) is from. I guess you keep picking foods until one works.
Anyone who liked the Earth Day Prompt, Earth Day would certainly fall into the Geography/earth sciences prompt!
I'm very excited about this one "A memoir or autobiographical fiction by an author that is a member of a marginalized group". I'm also personally keen on the book recommended by a family member, although I know that not everyone has a family member they can ask. Could it maybe be reworded to be a friend or family member?
What time does the voting close on Friday? I thought we would have until Sat or Sun. This is the one week I’m out of town all week. If I have to, I’ll call my daughter and have her vote for me.
Mod
But if it’s stressful for you, feel free to just message your votes to a mod. No need to worry :)
This is a great list! I'm going to have a hard time narrowing down my favorites this week.
Is it possible to change the last prompt to be recommended by a family member or friend? I guess we could consider this ATY group a big family!I also like the silhouette cover prompt because, like Rachel pointed out, the silhouette doesn't have to be of a person or face! It could be the image of a person, animal, object, or scene represented as a solid shape of a single color, usually black! (Thanks Wikipedia!)
I also like the book you already know the ending of! In addition to re-reads, it could be a book related to a historical event or person you already know about. Perhaps you don't know the actual ending of the book, but if it's a book set during World War 2, you still know how the war ends! Or in a series you're reading, you know that the main character lives because there are more books about him. Maybe it's a book like Educated, where you know that the main character goes on to earn a PhD (says it on the back of the book), but the main bulk of the book is what's leading up to that point. Maybe you're reading the book after you've seen the movie version, or you're a monster like me who sometimes reads the last sentence in a book before you start reading it! You could also interpret this prompt to be more "a book you THINK you know the ending to."
Mod
Another idea is something like Big Little Lies and Whisper Network where you know someone dies but you don't know who it is or how it happened.
Avery wrote: "I also like the book you already know the ending of! In addition to re-reads, it could be a book related to a historical event or person you already know about. Perhaps you don't know the actual en..."Yes! I meant to include non-fiction in my list of ideas about it when I proposed it. Thanks for adding that thought! I forgot to include seeing it as a movie/TV series as well which others have mentioned.
One more thought popped into my head, you could include a prequel to a book you've already read. Perfect slot for Untitled Panem Novel right now!
Mod
I would be against this cause saying "a friend" seems to open it too much. Maybe Make it family (real or urban) and then those friends close enough to consider family could count?
I’m really excited about that prompt. I instantly thought of Anna Karenina, because that got spoiled for me years ago. I’m still going to read it though, but I certainly wasn’t pleased about the spoiler.
We certainly have new and interesting prompts this round. Autobiographical fiction seems very hard and to restrict it to "from a marginalized group"? Yikes.
I don't like the "recommended by a family member prompt" just because it's one of those fill-in-the-blank prompts. I mean, you can read anything for the prompt and say it was recommended.
What are these "silhouette on the cover" books that everyone is so excited about? I've got like two on my entire TBR list but so many people seem to love this prompt.
I've got some good options for witches and ancient world. Those are probably my two favorite prompts from this round.
dalex wrote: "We certainly have new and interesting prompts this round. Autobiographical fiction seems very hard and to restrict it to "from a marginalized group"? Yikes.
I don't like the "recommended by a fa..."
The autobiographical fiction prompt says "memoir or autobiographical fiction," so it doesn't have to be a fictional book, at least the way I read it. Reading a memoir by a person from a marginalized group opens it up much more.
Also, I think the "recommended by a family member prompt" seems pretty narrow to me. I guess it depends on your family, but I would take this literally and say that I wouldn't read a book for this one unless a member of my family (which could include extended family or in-laws, in my opinion) actually recommended the book to me. I wouldn't think that anything I read could fit that prompt. I am lucky to have a lot of readers in my family, so it wouldn't be difficult for me, but I understand what a lot of people are saying about not having family who read, or some people may not have family, period.
I normally use all my votes for upvotes anyway, but I'm really excited about these prompts. For a child's perspective the default should be Room. That book is such a gut punch.
Favorite food: I love basically all food so I have The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy and a Food history book of New Orleans that I'm so excited to read. If anyone loves just good old fashioned middle America comfort food, can I suggest Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews?
Book I know the ending of: that will have to be a cozy mystery. Yes we all know that the spunky, amateur sleuther will miraculously come out of some harrowing situation and figure out the mystery before the actually paid experienced professionals., but it's still awesome ok?
Memoir: I'm trying to read a book from every country so I will always upvote these prompts. Some suggestions looking through my read list are March: Book One, Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of FemininityMarathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports, and I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala.
Family member: I would totally count a member of my running club family or the tight group of friends that live near me. Chosen family counts. That said, my Dad mentioned that a family friend just got a book published, so I may go with that. Chosen and blood family in one swoop.
Shelley wrote: "I normally use all my votes for upvotes anyway, but I'm really excited about these prompts. For a child's perspective the default should be Room. That book is such a gut punch.
F..."
I might need to read that Grand Forks! I'm obsessed with her Olive Garden review!
Steve wrote: "Shelley wrote: "I normally use all my votes for upvotes anyway, but I'm really excited about these prompts. For a child's perspective the default should be Room. That book is such..."
It's an adorable book. It gets a bit old towards the end because of the repetition, but I read it on vacation so it was a good pick up, put down book. Most of the reviews are little mom and pop type places that are the epitome of small town charm. She also reviews some places multiple times over the 30 year span so it's cool to see how things change. Actually seeing how her reviews change and how the attitudes and novelties change from 1982 to 2012 was the best part to me (the Burger King review was hilarious).
dalex wrote: "I mean, you can read anything for the prompt and say it was recommended."Theoretically, you could also not read anything at all and say you did. I wouldn't want to disqualify a prompt just because someone might not follow it.
Mod
As for the silhouette, I have these on my TBR:
I was not expecting so many when I started this comment lol. Some of these obviously fit the prompt better than others, but I think they are all close enough to count.
I don't have a lot of silhouettes on my TBR at the moment but I would still say they're a reasonably common cover design element. Sometimes silhouette people are tiny, but there.
I like this batch too. The only ones I could see myself voting against are the family recommendation (I’m the reader in my family) and favorite food. This came up for me in an earlier poll too - I don’t have a favorite anything, and this wording leads to paralysis. If I had written that prompt, I would have said a type of food you love instead.I plan on reading Passing by Nella Larsen for either the autobiographical fiction or the 1920s, if either of those win. I also love maps and books about maps, so I’m excited for that one!
I just checked on silhouettes in my TBR and saw at least 12, so I may vote that up as well.
It might be too late, but I would suggest rewording the food prompt to something a long the lines of:A book related to the “origins” of a food you enjoy.
Origins could be literally the country that created it (or where an ingredient grows), the restaurant where they made it or serve it, or the area that popularized it.
That might make it any easier entry point for more people.
Like many others, I would need to read the family prompt as “urban family.” Otherwise my only option is going to be the Howard Stern book.
I just checked my TBR for covers with silhouettes, and there are several books I’ve been very excited about, so that category just quickly transitioned from “meh” to “maybe I’ll use my last vote to upvote it!!”
Jody wrote: "I’m really excited about that prompt. I instantly thought of Anna Karenina, because that got spoiled for me years ago. I’m still going to read it though, but I certainly wasn’t pleased about the sp..."This happened to me with Anna Karenina as well! My godfather referenced the ending, I got mad, he refused to apologize because the book is over 100 years old, and it's been a running joke in our family ever since.
I always feel that I know so many classic books in a vague sense, even if I haven’t read them yet. Like I somehow absorb the plots from the ether or something. That said, I’m then often fairly surprised by the way the end up being - particularly Frankenstein sticks in my mind.
Not having read it yet, does it make sense that Anne of Green Gables is categorized as "geography"? At least 4 people have shelved it that way.
Right now I’m leaning towards 5 up and 2 down. Up votes will be child’s perspective (voted for it in an earlier poll and was pleased to see it come up again), diary or journal (I’ve enjoyed lots in this format in the past even if there’s nothing currently on my TBR), geography or earth science (I liked the Earth Day prompt so thanks to Avery for pointing out books for it could also fit here), memoir or autobiographical novel (I’ve read lots of memoir this year and enjoyed them all; wasn’t sure about autobiographical novel but turns out I’ve read and enjoyed lots on the lists) and 1920s ( I usually read a dozen classics so this would help narrow them down a little). Down votes will be family members (they don’t read or we read very different stuff - if it gets in I’ll probably use the chosen family interpretation ) and song line or title (did that in the last year or so, struggled to find anything and then didn’t really like the book I read). May or may not use my final vote - still deciding if I feel strongly enough about them. I’ll be fine if they get in but won’t be heartbroken if they don’t.
Mod
I was really excited about this group of prompts, but then when I looked closer at them, I realized that I was just ok with most of them. I'm going to end up upvoting 5 and downvoting 3, but I'm really okay with most of them getting in.
I was having trouble picking my top 5 (I knew the 3 I wanted to downvote), so I looked at the list of what we already had and realized we are already at 5 title prompts... so I knocked those out of my top and narrowed it down to 5.
Chinook wrote: "... That said, I’m then often fairly surprised by the way the end up being ..."That's for sure. The entire Mormon section of Doyle's A Study in Scarlet was unexpected, and there's no daughter in The Island of Doctor Moreau, and there's no balloon ride in Around the World in Eighty Days!!
Dalex, to be honest, I specifically added the autobiographical fiction part to the prompt just so you wouldn't automatically downvote! Or rather I should say those who are anti nonfiction, with you as a leading voice in the group. I do think it's actually pretty broad when you consider both memoir and the fiction, though it is probably much easier to find a memoir than an autobiographical novel.
The family recommendation is any easy one for me since my family members are all big readers. I already know what my husband recommends and don’t even need to ask!
Eujean2 wrote: "Not having read it yet, does it make sense that Anne of Green Gables is categorized as "geography"? At least 4 people have shelved it that way."I can’t imagine how, except that she travels to and from the town? It’s so great, though.
I have mine narrowed down to 6 up and 1 down so far. I've figured out what to do with the food prompt, so I won't downvote it. If it gets in, I have some books set at farmer's markets and farms. :)Still trying to figure out what to do with that last vote, though. I would honestly be fine with 14 out of the 15 prompts, so I'm not sure what to throw my vote toward.
I like the idea of linking the geology prompt to Earth Day as suggested above, but I was thinking I might finally read Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (for geography).
I wonder if some people use geography asa synonym for reading around the world. Anne of Green Gables would be a good pick for a Canadian book (or a PEI book if you wanted to read Canada by province). Countries are part of geography so not really a stretch even if it’s not the wording I’d use.
Chrissy wrote: "Eujean2 wrote: "Not having read it yet, does it make sense that Anne of Green Gables is categorized as "geography"? At least 4 people have shelved it that way."I can’t imagine how, ex..."
The only thing I can think of is that these people are tagging geography for more of a sense of place vibe. Because absolutely, I think that PEI is captured by the book and is basically a character in and of itself. There is a lot of description of the various natural areas, plants etc.
I don’t know how common it is/was, but i hung out with people for whom family was used to mean LGBTQIA. So I will likely use that definition of family if that prompt gets in. I have family members who read, but we don’t really share tastes.
I have narrowed down my votes for 6 up and 2 down. My down votes are more for ones I'm less interested in rather than disliking them. I'm not a fan of memoirs and I was not finding very many options for the fictional autobiography, especially ones I have not already read. I think there are enough setting prompts and I don't have a "favorite" food so that is my other down vote. I'm hoping we get a few winners this round even if they are not the ones I up voted.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Room (other topics)No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison (other topics)
A Woman Is No Man (other topics)
To The Bright Edge of the World (other topics)
Anne of Green Gables (other topics)
More...
Voting will open on Monday September 30 and results will be posted on Saturday October 5.
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 this poll to spread across your favourite and least favourite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes)
- The poll will be open for five days, 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)
- We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile. We’ve introduced this for two reasons:
1. On a few occasions in each poll, people have used more than the allotted number of votes, either because they aren’t familiar with the rules or just by mistake. When this happens our only option is to disregard the vote as we can’t identify the voter to ask them to resubmit. By asking for your profile address we’ll be able to message you and ask you to vote again if you’ve accidentally used more than the allotted number of votes.
2. Unfortunately a very small number of people have voted more than once per poll and so we are asking for this information to prevent duplicate votes.
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 related to witches
It could be a book about witches:
- The Witches
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- A Discovery of Witches
- The Crucible
- Equal Rites
- The Bone Witch
More suggestions: https://bookriot.com/2017/04/18/100-m...
Or the book could include characters that are witches:
- Macbeth
- A Wrinkle in Time
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Or a book with witch in the title that may not have witches as characters:
- The Witches Are Coming
- Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love
- The Witch Elm
Or books otherwise associated with witches
A book that's from a child's perspective
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://offtheshelf.com/2015/11/liste...
A book in diary or journal form
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
A book that takes place where your favorite food comes from
Extra challenge or pat on the back if the food is in the book!
I was inspired by the book I'm reading right now that takes place in India and each time they mention food, my mouth waters. So maybe you like souvlaki so you would read something in Greece, or maybe its pad thai so a book in Thailand, pizza Italy (or US depending on your view). Or maybe it's a factory thing- I love gummy bears but will only eat the ones that are made in Turkey or Cadbury's chocolate for a British book. Although you could be very literal and read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory because it takes place where chocolate is made! But I like the idea of even going to the origins of the food. Like a hamburger person could read a book that takes place in the American West where they have cows. Or the The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane for tea lovers, it takes place in the tea fields of China but also talks about the drink a lot.
If you like Tim Horton's the best, I just finished Ayesha at Last and every other chapter they go to Tim Horton's and I kept thinking "donuts"!
A book that is between 400-600 pages
A book that you already know the ending of
A book about geography, geology or earth science
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
A memoir or autobiographical fiction by an author that is a member of a marginalized group
Two examples for autobiographical fiction (if I’m interpreting this correctly):
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde - Lorde called this a “biomythography”
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi - it’s autobiographical fiction based on her life but the character is not her name
There are a few names for autobiographical fiction, including autofiction, autobiographical novels, and semi autobiographical fiction. It's a book where the author writes about their own life and experiences in a fictional manner, like characters with different names who go through the same things the author has.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://bookriot-com.cdn.ampproject.o...
https://mashable.com/2014/09/01/autob...
A book set in the ancient world (eg. Roman empire, Ancient Greeks, Egyptians)
A book with a hyphen in the title
A book with a silhouette on the cover
A book that contains a day or month in the title (Monday, December, etc.)
A book published in the 1920s or set in the 1920s
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
A book whose title is a line from or title of a song
https://www.epicreads.com/blog/9-ya-b...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/5...
A book recommended to you by a family member
Vote here:
https://www.surveymoz.com/s/G3G42/