[2020] Voting for 18th Mini-Poll

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

It's now time to get ready to vote for our next set of prompts! But as we discussed before the process began, we are going to open the poll one day after we've gathered the suggestions. This is a good opportunity to ask any question you may have regarding the prompts, do some research or ask for recommendations.

Voting will open on Thursday, October 17 and results will be posted on Tuesday, October 22.

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:

1. A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whim

2. A book related to a Google Doodle from 2018, 2019, or 2020
https://www.google.com/doodles

3. A domestic fiction novel
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
It could be "a domestic suspense novel or contemporary women’s fiction, many of those books that take place at home or in the neighborhood". And the ones in that link fit into that.

4. A prompt from a previous Around the Year in 52 Books challenge

5. A book that could be retitled with one of the Star Wars titles
For example, if you read a book about someone who has a second chance, it could be retitled a New Hope. Other examples from the movies include Empire Strikes Back, Rogue One, Phantom Menace, Solo, The Force Awakens. The title doesn’t have to be from the original movies, it could be from one of the stand alone movies, episode subtitles from the animated series, the Clone Wars, a spin off like the Star Wars lego movies, or even a parody, novels, or video games.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wa...

6. A book that inspires or motivates you
This could be a range of genres/topics, including but not limited to up-lit, self-help, a book for school/career, a book with a creative cover/illustrations, a book with characters who overcome obstacles/adversity, a book by a motivational speaker or inspirational person in your life, etc. It could be related to school, career, parenting, personal life, love life, politics, health & fitness regimen, etc.

7. A book with a non-human main character
AI, aliens, ghosts, dogs, horses, rabbits, vampires, etc.

8. A story you are already familiar with, but in a different format (e.g. movie, graphic novel, children’s edition, audiobook)

9. A book with flowers or greenery on the cover

10. A book based on a true story

11. A book related to a tarot card

12. A book related to 20/20
Hindsight, true crime, sight, blindness, glasses on cover, etc.

13. A book that contains one of the top 10 female or male names in your region (author, main character, side character, title, editor, illustrator, etc)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

14. Read a book on a topic we've been told to avoid: sex, politics or religion

15. A book that takes place in sister city of the city you live or lived in
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_...

Vote here: https://www.surveymoz.com/s/CRI8Z/

[Sarah]

I love a book you don't remember putting on your TBR! I add things with wild abandon, so I'm always forgetting what's actually on there.

[Marie]

I have more books on my TBR set in Pittsburgh, one of the sister cities of my home town, (two) than I do books I don't know why I put there (zero).

[Nicole]

This might be our last mini-poll! I'm so excited to almost have a completed list, but also sad that the process is almost over. Fingers crossed that we get two winners this week so we don't have to have another poll for just one more prompt!

That being said, I'm going with eight up-votes this week. Most of this year, I've had a mix of ups & downs, but the last couple polls, I've had enough that I liked, and not any that I was really, really against that I decided to go al up. Can't wait to get my vote in and see the results next week! :)

[dalex]

Perhaps a retelling of another work (classic lit, ancient lit, mythology, fairy tales, etc.) would fit for "a story you are already familiar with but in a different format"? Yes? No?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

dales, that was my first thought when I saw this prompt. That’s definitely how I’d be interpreting it.

[dalex]

I found THIS (very lengthy) LIST of Bestselling Domestic Fiction. It seems to be a mix of chick lit and lit fic, with a few vintage classics thrown in. Based on this list it is a very broad genre/category.

[Joanne]

I'm not up or down voting the "book you are already familiar with, but in a different format", but if it gets through I might re-read a book on audio that I previously read on paper, or vice-versa.

[Sarah]

Marie wrote: "I have more books on my TBR set in Pittsburgh, one of the sister cities of my home town, (two) than I do books I don't know why I put there (zero)."

Well you have a much better organized list than I do! That's been one of the most interesting parts of the list-making process for me--seeing how different we all are in how we approach our reading.

[Pam]

I'm glad someone resubmitted tarot card. I really like that one! There's so much you can do with it plus I have a few tarot books that I never completely read. I also really like the book you are already familiar with. I saw on Instagram a new slipcover edition of Dune with full page illustrations, which I have to find!

At first, I was leaning against the sister city prompt after I looked up my current city, with 9 small cities to choose from. But, when I expanded my search to include all 7 cities I've lived in, I now have 58 choices, so I'm liking this prompt more! Two cities (Belfast and Edmonton) are definitely doable. It would be an interesting prompt to research for some of the other cities in countries less familiar to me like Trinidad & Tobago, Sierra Leone, Jamaica, Poland, South Korea, Lithuania, + more.

[Fourevver]

One of the sister cities of my home city is New York City. Plenty of choice there....

[Shelley]

My city's sister cities include Baku, Azerbaijan and Taipei, Taiwan, which means The Astonishing Color of After, Taiwan's Struggle: Voices of the Taiwanese, and Ali and Nino from my TBR list are available. Perfect.

I seconded the Star Wars one because I think it's so out of the box. The choices are:
A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
The Rise of Skywalker
The Clone Wars
Rogue One
Solo

I feel like there's so many interesting ways that it could be taken like a World War One book for the Empire Strikes Back, a medical drama for A New Hope. a space station book for The Rise of Skywalker, a survivalist book for Solo. So many strange directions!

[Johanne]

@Marie, that's why 'added on a whim' was added to that prompt - for all you super organised people with or without excellent memories.

[Johanne]

And I also really like the creativity in the Star Wars suggestion.

One of my sister cities is Reykjavik, lots of Icelandic books set there I want to read.

[Marie]

Sarah wrote: "Well you have a much better organized list than I do! That's been one of the most interesting parts of the list-making process for me--seeing how different we all are in how we approach our reading"

I'm a planner and an organiser, it's not a choice, I can't help it :)

Also, not a whim person - I take a list on book hunts!

[Steve]

I like the sister cities idea, but I wonder how it'll fare considering we have the global cities prompt that'll have overlap. I would need to expand it to a city in my area, since my town doesn't have a "sister" and none of the choices thrill me.

[Serendipity]

Re the book you are already familiar with in another format I think a retelling would be fine. I suggested this prompt in the Wild Discussion so thanks to whoever suggested and nominated it. As I suspected the new nominations opened and closed overnight my time. I see lots of possibilities. For me I’m new to audio books and am enjoying listening to some I’d previously read. Alternatively read the book if you’ve only listened to the audio. The graphic novel of A Handmaid’s Tale also appeals even though I’ve read the original. Perhaps you’ve seen a movie or tv show but not read the book. Or as a kid loved an abridged or child’s version of one of the classics and have always meant to tackle the original. The lovely illustrated Harry Potters if you’ve read the originals or see the movie.

[Serendipity]

Would we need a wording change for the book you are already familiar with to a story you are already familiar with so people can read the book if they’ve seen the movie? You could argue that if you’ve seen the movie you are familiar with the book but some more literal types might feel this is too much of a stretch.

[Avery]

I suppose the prompt about a story you're familiar with in a different format just won't work for me. I really have no interest in reading a book I've already seen the movie/show/play of, and I have no interest in re-reading a book in a different format either. If it left off the "different format" I think I could make it work by reading a book I've heard so much about, a book I know spoilers to, or books with similar tropes/themes to books I've already read. Oh well.

[Jillian]

I don't think I really understand domestic fiction but it seems to be fairly broad in what counts so I will be leaving it in my middle. I think, I have 3/5 vote but I might change my votes based on the discussion.

[Avery]

I'm liking the wacky but unique Star Wars prompt! I also like the 20/20 prompt in that it relates to 2020. The ATY prompt, Google Doodle, and Tarot Card prompts are a bit too broad, they seem more like "read any book" to me. The on-a-whim book would work well for me, as I add books on there when I enter or win giveaways, even if I don't know much about the book beforehand.

[Jill]

I don't live in a city so I used town, and seems we are twinned with Fishers Indiana, so I would use that if it gets in.

[Liz]

Yes, please change it from “a book you are already familiar with” to “a story you are already familiar with.”

[Serendipity]

The problem with what could possibly be the last poll is really liking more than two of them and knowing that at least one definitely won’t make the cut.

[Pam]

I don’t see the big difference between “read a book” and “read a story”. I feel like story and book can be used to have the same meaning. Maybe what some of you would prefer is “read a book whose story you are familiar with”.

[Avery]

Pam wrote: "I don’t see the big difference between “read a book” and “read a story”. I feel like story and book can be used to have the same meaning. Maybe what some of you would prefer is “read a book whose s..."

I think it's just me who doesn't like it haha! I could make the prompt work if it was “read a book whose story you are familiar with” but the different format gets me. I just don't see how it would work for me who doesn't have some favorite book to re-read in a graphic novel format, and doesn't read the book after seeing the movie. I also think if I spun it to be about some historical event I know about, it'd be too similar to the leading news story prompt we already have. It's okay though, if it gets through it's fine, I just don't love it!

[Eujean2]

"A book based on a true story" feels a lot like "a book inspired by a leading news story". I can see the difference, but I image that I would be picking the same kind of book for both prompts.

[Perri]

Jill wrote: "I don't live in a city so I used town, and seems we are twinned with Fishers Indiana, so I would use that if it gets in."

I know where that is!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'm going to go ahead and change the prompt to say "story you're familiar with" as I think this was the intention of the suggester and of the people discussing it in the Wild Discussion.

Also working on updating post 1 with links and more info now!

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I like the idea of the sister cities prompt. But it’s rather easy for me since I’ve lived in Boston and that has 11 options itself. It also lends itself well to a BIO option though.

The TBR prompt feels really wordy to me. What about:

A book from your TBR/wishlist that you don't recognize, recall putting there, or put there on a whim

[Johanne]

I suggested the TBR prompt. That wording is fine by me.

[Johanne]

I mean your suggestion Laura

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Agreed, Laura. I made the change.

I'm intrigued by the sister cities prompt, but I'm not sure if I'll vote for it. My current city has 4 sister cities -- one in Canada, two in France, and another in Belgium. I probably wouldn't be able to be too precise with the cities, since they are smaller and would require some pretty niche reading. If this gets in, I'll probably broaden it to just the country, rather than the specific city.

[Eujean2]

In case it is helpful to other people, this is a link leads to a list of the people who have been immortalized on a Google Doodle:
https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-pe...

It seems to be listed in reverse chronological order and I found it a bit easier to read than the other link. With a quick search I found out that the artist who's art is used on the cover of The Guest Cat & Mr. Rogers have been immortalized in Doodles this year. If this wins, I am going to go back and look through the international writers and see what I can read from the books they have written.

[Pam]

Avery - I’m the same way in that I don’t read a book after seeing a movie but there are lots I’d like to read (e.g. The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, Outlander, The Dead Zone, BUtterfield 8, Gone with the Wind, Ice Station Zebra, Les Miserables, and the James Bond series, to name a few).

[Jill]

I don't read books after I have seen a film, but I do read series that have been on TV. Poirot, Midsummer Murders and such like

[Kathryn]

Emily wrote: "My current city has 4 sister cities -- one in Canada, two in France, and another in Belgium. I probably wouldn't be able to be too precise with the cities, since they are smaller and would require some pretty niche reading. If this gets in, I'll probably broaden it to just the country, rather than the specific city...."

I'm with you, Emily - I'd definitely have to broaden mine to the countries!

The Museum of Brisbane's website tells me that Brisbane has 9 sister cities - Kobe, Shenzhen, Semarang, Kaohsiung, Daejeon, Chongqing, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Auckland!

I haven't even heard of a couple of those places, and I rather suspect there's no books set in them! But Auckland could be doable, and there are certainly books set in Japan, China, Indonesia, India, probably South Korea, although not necessarily ones on my TBR shelf... And I am determined to significantly reduce my TBR shelf next year... Well, until other books come along and tempt me away!

[Bec]

I don't understand the Star Wars one. Can someone explain how this would work to me. I'm not into Star Wars at all and just not sure what I'm meant to be doing to choose a book

[Karissa]

I was originally not feeling "A book that inspires you" but then I thought about how I could use that in regards to travelling. Examples of travel inspiration could be a travel memoir, a book where the main character goes on a journey, or a book set in a place you would like to travel.

[Pam]

Karissa- I like your interpretation! I was planning to vote for this one even though I don’t have a book in mind. I was thinking about feng shui or cooking or a book with a spiritual aspect.

[Rachel]

It will be a tough choice for me. On first glance, there was one that I strongly wanted, and one that I strongly didn't want, and I'm pretty indifferent to everything else. I could definitely live with all of them, so it makes it really hard to choose.

Also, I'm not sure if I'm looking at the wrong thing for the Google Doodles, but I seem to get many copies of the same one on the page that I found. It's definitely open (maybe a little too open?) to a lot of options, but I was a bit confused to be scrolling through and seeing the same few over and over.

[Ellie]

Rachel wrote: "It will be a tough choice for me. On first glance, there was one that I strongly wanted, and one that I strongly didn't want, and I'm pretty indifferent to everything else. I could definitely live ..."

I think the repeat doodles are because different countries have them on different days. There's no doodle currently shown on the UK Google but if I look at the doodles it's the anniversary of Madrid's metro (so assuming this would be shown in Spain).

[Kathryn]

Bec wrote: "I don't understand the Star Wars one. Can someone explain how this would work to me. I'm not into Star Wars at all and just not sure what I'm meant to be doing to choose a book"

I'm the same, Bec - I've never watched the movies or had anything to do with Star Wars - although I think I had a Star Wars colouring book when I was about 4... But it obviously didn't take, because I have no interest in Star Wars at all! And it seems like far too much work even to wrap my head around it enough to be able to work out how I could apply a Stars Wars movie title to one of my books!

If this gets in, I may just read a book with a war-time setting, or something to do with stars...!

[Ellie]

I've never lived in a big city so my twin towns might be tricky to match with settings. I did live in Christchurch (UK) which is imaginatively twinned with Christchurch in New Zealand so that one might work.

My other options are Canteleu (France), Lucerne (Switzerland), Netanya (Israel), Aalen (Germany), Tatabanya (Hungary), Saint-Lo (France), Osnabrück (Germany).

For the most popular names prompt, more recent data is available for the UK (including local authority breakdown):
England/Wales: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati...
Scotland: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/20...
Northern Ireland: https://www.nisra.gov.uk/statistics/b...

Domestic fiction seems to be a catch-all for books that don't particularly interest me! However I won't downvote it as I'm sure I can find something.

The only one I'm feeling strongly against is inspirational/motivating. It's not a reaction I get a lot so impossible to plan for.

[Johanne]

I believe the Star Wars one is meant for you to use your association skills. You don't need to know the films - just look at the titles. For example; a lot of historical books about war could be retitled 'The Empire Strikes Back', a lot of fantasy books have a protagonist whose magical powers awaken, or where evil powers are on the rise - 'The Force Awakens'. Or you could be reading a book about someone recently single, or wandering on their own through the wilderness - 'Solo'.

[Sophie]

I really like the creativity of the Star Wars prompt! It's different from what we usually see and can prompt any KIS or BIO option!

I feel like people have been really imaginative this year and kept the juice flowing until the very end, that's amazing! 👏🏻

[Nadine in NY]

Bec wrote: "I don't understand the Star Wars one. Can someone explain how this would work to me. I'm not into Star Wars at all and just not sure what I'm meant to be doing to choose a book"



You don't need to know anything about Star Wars, you just need the list of titles that Shelley posted up above. Then find a book that could be re-titled with one of those titles. If someone is a hermit, you could read "Solo." If the book is non-fiction about building sky-scrapers, read "Rise of Skywalker." If the romantic hero is a rogue, read "Rogue One."

[Entropia]

I think sister city prompt should be broadened to countries of sister cities/twin towns. I knew it might be too hard in case of small towns, but I proposed it on a whim and didn't really think it through how to make it more accessible.
Domestic fiction is not really something I read or I'm interested in, so I'll probably downvote this one.
Names prompt might be difficult for me to find things on my tbr, unless using different versions of the name is allowed (like Erik=Erich=Eric).

[Sophie]

Kathryn wrote: "Bec wrote: "I don't understand the Star Wars one. Can someone explain how this would work to me. I'm not into Star Wars at all and just not sure what I'm meant to be doing to choose a book"

I'm th..."


I’m not a big fan of Star Wars, either. I’ve seen the movies because of my kids. But there is no need to see them or like them. In fact, it’s probably easier to reuse a title if you don’t know what the movie or episode is about.

Johanne and others are right, I only suggested it as a means for people of using their imagination.

Besides the movie titles listed above, there is an animated series with several seasons with many episodes. Examples of those episode titles are Defenders of Peace, Rookies, The Hidden Enemy, Voyage of Temptation, Brain Invaders

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

[Liz]

Entropia, I think that rewording would be very helpful! I would have done the prompt that way anyway, but for people who like to be as close to the wording as possible, having it expanded to country instead of city would be much more doable.