Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2021] The Wild Discussion
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We currently have zero prompts centered around the character in a book, the genre of the book, or lists/awards/recommendations.
We won't have dedicated polls unless there's a general consensus that we need them later in the process, but since this is the wild discussion, I thought I would post this here to open up a bit of brainstorming for these types of prompts.
(You can see a list of prompts we have selected, sorted by type, here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...)
I don't like lists that are restricted to one genre but I do generally like looking at lists. Even though yes I already own hundreds of unread books and should really just read them!The NYPL staff picks always have something good, but I know we've done that before, so how about something related to a library recommendation. I'm not a big library user so I'm not sure what the best wording is. A book recommended by a library? Or librarian? It should definitely be general, my library doesn't really put much online so I would want freedom to choose any library.
https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recom...
Or are there other libraries that do big genre-spanning lists?
I really liked the list prompts we had for the summer reading challenge, it made me pick up books I'd never have heard of otherwise which is what I want from a reading challenge. Over the past few years I've been working through the BBC Big Read Top 100 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/to...) which should have something for everyone - maybe that could be a good option?
In the UK we also have World Book Night on Shakespeare's birthday (23rd April) and each year the Reading Agency produce a list of World Book Night titles. They're usually a really good mix of genres and newer/older books. Maybe we could do something with that?
Here's the 2020 list to give you an idea of what the suggestions look like:
https://worldbooknight.org/books
I actually saw a few hours ago that there weren’t any character-themed prompts yet, so I took a stab at one! I’ll try to post this in the suggestions thread once it opens if I can make it, but if not, I’ll try again in the next poll: A book featuring a character closely associated with domesticated or farm animals in honor of 2021, the Chinese Year of the Ox.
Examples: Books from the point of view of animals (War Horse, Black Beauty, Charlotte’s Web, Animal Farm) or featuring farmers, pet owners, vets, horse jockeys, possibly people in the circus if they work with domesticated animals, etc.
I’m totally open to suggestions on rewording/rephrasing this prompt, but would rather it not open up to all kinds of animal since while every year is an Asian animal year, this year happens to be a working animal (I believe "ox" literally translates to any kind of cattle or domesticated bovine). 2022 will be the year of the tiger, I think followed by the year of the dragon or snake, so I thought this could be an interesting and diverse one for 2021.
The BBC Big Read list has a lot of books that always crop up on lists of books you should read. I know I am tired of seeing those lists again and again.
Ellie wrote: "The BBC Big Read list has a lot of books that always crop up on lists of books you should read. I know I am tired of seeing those lists again and again."The Big Read list was compiled based on people nominating their favourite books of all time, which is slightly different to those patronising "50 books you should read before you die" lists, but I get your point that there will be some cross-over. Also totally get that you're sick of the "must read" lists as they do seem to be everywhere.
Irene wrote: "I actually saw a few hours ago that there weren’t any character-themed prompts yet, so I took a stab at one! I’ll try to post this in the suggestions thread once it opens if I can make it, but if n..."I had been toying with the idea of a book related to farming for year of the ox, not a character one though. I do associate oxen with farming as they used to be used for farm work before tractors, and generally we don't call cattle for the food industry oxen these days.
I know we've done the Chinese zodiac before, so I don't think people would want to make it any sign. I'm not sure how I feel about it being limited to characters though. I'd just want to read a book about farming and sometimes it's hard to say they have characters if they are non-fiction.
Aimee wrote: "I really liked the list prompts we had for the summer reading challenge, it made me pick up books I'd never have heard of otherwise which is what I want from a reading challenge. Over the past fe..."
I really like the idea of the World Book Night list, but when do they typically release the list?
My only gripe is that the list only has 26 books, which might not appeal to people who dislike lists to begin with. I don't own any books on that list that I haven't read yet, which is only a problem because I'm the type of reader who likes finding matching books from my personal library of unread books first.
i know this doesn't exactly fit the categories above but i've been thinking about this for a prompt for a few days and wanted to kind of workshop it here.
this website https://randomwordgenerator.com/ is a random word generator and i thought it'd be fun to use to pick your next read! you could interpret your word as broadly or narrowly as possible and it'd be unique to all of us. for example, my random word was 'celebration' so i could read a book set during a wedding or halloween. it could be a book like You Know Me Well or When You Get the Chance set during pride. it could be a book with 'celebrate' in the title or an anniversary edition of a book celebrating its release.
i was thinking of wording it like 'use https://randomwordgenerator.com/ to choose your next read'
any thoughts? i worried about it being only accessible to those with internet but i figured if you are on this site, you probably have access
this website https://randomwordgenerator.com/ is a random word generator and i thought it'd be fun to use to pick your next read! you could interpret your word as broadly or narrowly as possible and it'd be unique to all of us. for example, my random word was 'celebration' so i could read a book set during a wedding or halloween. it could be a book like You Know Me Well or When You Get the Chance set during pride. it could be a book with 'celebrate' in the title or an anniversary edition of a book celebrating its release.
i was thinking of wording it like 'use https://randomwordgenerator.com/ to choose your next read'
any thoughts? i worried about it being only accessible to those with internet but i figured if you are on this site, you probably have access
Are the WBN books the same in the US as in the UK? It could be a book from any WBN, not just 2021.
The LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) site has an extensive list of categories with book recommendations! https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso...Personally, I think it would be too broad to use all of them but maybe limiting the choices would work. For example, use any list except for Best of Year and If You Like This lists.
For our travel prompt, the site has these suggestions for Travel with Famous Authors books-
https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso...
Ellie wrote: "Irene wrote: "I actually saw a few hours ago that there weren’t any character-themed prompts yet, so I took a stab at one! I’ll try to post this in the suggestions thread once it opens if I can mak..."Right, that's why I felt like I had to clarify that "ox" isn't the best translation in English, because the word/character used in Asian countries is a broader term that refers to any domesticated bovine, especially cows/cattle. I did consider rephrasing it to be about farming/agriculture, but thought it might feel too specific, especially without the connection to 2021.
Pam wrote: "The LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) site has an extensive list of categories with book recommendations! https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso...
Personally, I think it wou..."
i love this one! so much to choose from
Personally, I think it wou..."
i love this one! so much to choose from
I think, anything with animals is a tough sell in this group. There are lots of prompts with animals in them and they never make it. If I have an up vote to waste, then I will vote for animal based ones but it always feels like a wasted voted. That being said, I don't think I'd be interesting in one limited to farming animals/characters on a farm etc.
The random word generator is a great idea. I tried it and got "singer" which would open up tons of possibilities. I'd be in for that one.World Book Night is just too limited. If it has to be a list, it needs to include a lot of different genres and older as well as newer books.
Here is a huge list of genres and subgenres. Maybe someone could come up with some ideas based on this:http://www.cuebon.com/ewriters/genres...
The voting does seem to be going in opposite directions this time. We've had a bunch of suggestions covering the missing elements above already, they just never got voted in.I personally always prefer new and exciting/original prompts, and that includes ways to make a list. I tried that with my Degreesof Separation suggestion, but it didn't go down well with the group (ot should I say, it went down TOO well ... all the way to the bottom^^). After five years of doing challenges, I'm simply a bit bored by getting the same lists to pick and choose from over and over again (Pulitzer, National Book Award, 100 Books to read before you die, Oprah's Book Club, etc.)
The random word generator is a cool idea, I would vote for that one :) It may be a bit more accessible than my WIkipedia prompt, which kind of went in the same direction.
As I've said before, I really like the idea of propmts having a conncetion to the year in question, so I'm all in favor of the Ox prompt :)
Sara wrote: "World Book Night is just too limited. If it has to be a list, it needs to include a lot of different genres and older as well as newer books...."On a list of over 200 selected books I see historical fiction, fantasy, classics, crime, sci-fi, contemporary fiction, YA, memoir, including commercial and more literary writing. It doesn't usually include brand new releases if that's what you mean?
Irene wrote: "Oh no, what has Jamie McGuide done??"Just a quick note on what I said earlier because I missed the rest of the conversation and I never clarified:
I didn't refer to McGuire's anti-vaxx statements (even though I'm not surprised she weighed in on that) but to several instances (well-documented on Twitter and such) where she showed heavily racist tendencies on the one hand and displayed open scorn against people who dared to criticize her books on the other. But I've never liked her books, anyway, so it's probably easier for me to call her out^^
See here, for example: http://jennytrout.com/?p=8077
https://rosepetals1984.wordpress.com/...
I am also not trying to invalidate JKR's recent shenanigans by comparing them to people who have done "worse", that was ill-phrased of me. I simply tried to make the point that if I really enjoy someone's work, their behavior in real life can't just suddenly take that away and make me not want to read it any longer. I do understand the wish not to support them by buying their books, but for me, buying their books doesn't necessarily equal withdrawing support/sympathy from the community they're doing wrong. There are other ways to support maginalized groups, not by omission but by action. So even though I am massively disappointed in JKR as a person (even more so because she has been a very vocal advocate of other marginalized communities in the past), I can't suddenly unlove Harry, or Cormoran Strike. And there are tons of other celebrities whose actions I despise, but I still watch their movies/read their books/listen to their music. Simply because if I started aligning my tastes with the behavior of the people creating that art, I wouldn't know where to stop.
Back to topic now, I just wanted to add this because Ituned out this morning (well, my morning, anyway).
For the random word generator idea, the way I’ve seen it in other challenges is that you select a certain number (e.g. 10) and choose from that list. I like that idea. 1 choice is too limiting. I think many people will keep generating words until they find one they like. Re: the ox and farming idea, I don’t think I would go for it. I still like the marine animal idea from last year, though.
One category that I saw on the LAPL list which I have never seen on any other challenge is a mystery without a murder. I could go for that one.
I would like to suggest a prompt related to immigration. There are so many great ones out there both fiction and non-fiction. Is it best to say "related to immigration" or make it a proper character prompt and say "book with an immigrant"? or additional suggestions?
annie wrote: "Pam wrote: "The LAPL (Los Angeles Public Library) site has an extensive list of categories with book recommendations! https://www.lapl.org/collections-reso...Personally, I ..."
I don't know that one and would totally go for it!
Jen K wrote: "I would like to suggest a prompt related to immigration. There are so many great ones out there both fiction and non-fiction. Is it best to say "related to immigration" or make it a proper prompt and say "book with an immigrant"? or additional suggestions?"
I would say "related to immigration" would suit the challenge better because it can also relate to non-fiction, which might suit some people better?
I like the mysteries without murder idea... although I'd probably need help for suggestions without spoilers.
Conny wrote: "Jen K wrote: "I would like to suggest a prompt related to immigration. There are so many great ones out there both fiction and non-fiction. Is it best to say "related to immigration" or make it a..."
Thanks!
A book with an immigrant character can centre them in a story that is not primarily about their immigration status, however a book about immigration has to be about immigration. I prefer the character option myself.
Ellie wrote: "A book with an immigrant character can centre them in a story that is not primarily about their immigration status, however a book about immigration has to be about immigration. I prefer the charac..."Interesting distinction. That makes sense! I like the more open consideration.
Why not use both? A book about immigration or with an immigrant character?
Mod
I am happy for a mystery clue since I read a lot of them, but I see a problem with this one. For a lot of mysteries you don't know till the end if there is a murder. I can think of 3 offhand where everyone thinks a person has been killed but they were kidnapped or hiding out. Some mysteries are about theft, identity stealing or other crimes that don't involve murder, but even then you won't know till you read the book if someone gets killed along the way. If we post books to the listopia because we have read them, it would be a spoiler.
Ellie wrote: "Sara wrote: "World Book Night is just too limited. If it has to be a list, it needs to include a lot of different genres and older as well as newer books...."On a list of over 200 selected books ..."
My apologies, Ellie. When I clicked on the link it only took me to a page of about 20 books. I obviously missed something there that would have expanded the list. I will look at it again.
Mystery without a murder sounds kind of interesting.
I wouldn't mind the ox prompt if I can include any farming setting. I don't especially love "pet" books.
I did a little Googling for things happening in 2021, and the Mars rover is supposed to land in February, and an unmanned moon mission is planned for November. We could do "a book set in space or about space travel" to cover both fiction and non-fiction.
Mod
I generally dislike "or" prompts, and I know I'm not alone. I would say try the character one, and if that doesn't get in, you can resubmit about immigration in general.
For the ox prompt, I would frame it as "a book with a protagonist whose characteristics resemble an ox" - meaning they are hardworking, stubborn, strong, etc. That takes the farming aspect out and would make it more approachable to people who aren't going to read the discussion thoroughly before voting.
Nancy, I like that one, although I'd probably just say "A book about space" to make it a bit more concise.
Ha, I actually had that first and then changed it to be more comprehensive. I'm cool with "about space."
Ellie wrote: "A book with an immigrant character can centre them in a story that is not primarily about their immigration status, however a book about immigration has to be about immigration. I prefer the charac..."I prefer the character version as well. Though probably don't use "character" if going this route since nonfiction wouldn't be about a character. I think "A book about an immigrant" would work if this is the direction you choose to go.
I like randomwordgenerator prompt. But then again I'm sort of person who uses random number generator to pick which book I would consider reading for a prompt. I would also totally vote for randomgenregenerator prompt if there is any ;) But yeah, there should be some restriction of number of tries.Regarding mystery without murder, I don't read mysteries usually, but idea sounds possibly fun. On the other hand, I don't like prompts that require knowing contents of the book without reading it - I usually put stuff on my tbr and then forget what exactly was book about, so researching for those is painful.
Thanks all for the suggestions! I think I will go with "a book involving an immigrant". Definitely I would consider this to include someone immigrating, having immigrant parents, refugees, or policy involving immigration. I think it would work in a non-US-centric book and could be historical or contemporary.
Also I like how Emily revised the ox suggestion to be qualities of an ox.
I suggested the LAPL book list but excluded the Best of Year lists. My thought was to encourage people to pick a list that is something other than the most popular books from each year. They have some interesting and diverse lists like Jewish Sagas, Muslim Journeys, Banned Books, LGBTQIA, At The New Yorker, Micro-Histories, Rock-n-Roll, Reading the Globe, Short Stories, and LOTS of Hollywood themes (of course, it’s LA!) BUT, if people like the Best of Year lists, I don’t care if the exclusion is dropped. I just thought it made the prompt a tiny bit more challenging.
Pam wrote: "I suggested the LAPL book list but excluded the Best of Year lists. My thought was to encourage people to pick a list that is something other than the most popular books from each year. They have s..."Hmm I see what the intent was, but I wish it was just a BIO option to pick from a non-Best-of list. That's just my preference though, but I think it's still broad enough as is.
I agree with Avery, I would have liked it to be a BIO option as well just in case I find a new book on that list. But there are still some interesting ones on the list.
Nancy wrote: "Ha, I actually had that first and then changed it to be more comprehensive. I'm cool with "about space.""Glad I saw the discussion here. I saw "about space" on the suggestions and automatically thought of it fairly narrowly, whereas "set in space" would have seemed a bit more clear to me. The "about" wording seems to imply non-fiction to me.
Rachel wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Ha, I actually had that first and then changed it to be more comprehensive. I'm cool with "about space.""Glad I saw the discussion here. I saw "about space" on the suggestions and a..."
We could change it to "about or set in space," that way it's concise but more broad.
Nancy wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Ha, I actually had that first and then changed it to be more comprehensive. I'm cool with "about space.""Glad I saw the discussion here. I saw "about space" on the su..."
I'm open to that, but it was probably just my own mental block with the wording. I don't know why my mind automatically jumped to non-fiction with it, but I do find the "about or set in" wording a little more clear about the intent.
I went through the last few years of genre prompts. Here are some genre's we've had in the last 3 years. I'm impressed we haven't had too many similar repeats!2020: fantasy, history/historical fiction, mystery, classic
2019: speculative fiction, children's classic, psychological thriller, multi-generational saga
2018: gothic novel, literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, medical/legal thriller, alternate history, science/sci-fi, short stories
Ones we haven't had recently: romance, magical realism, memoir, self-help, how-to, contemporary fiction, graphic novel, horror, adventure, young adult, humor, poetry, essays
Medical Memoir and Epic are on the current poll, but I think based on the last few lists, it seems like people like to have some more generic genre prompts on there.
I was thinking of nominating biography, autobiography or memoir, but medical memoir was already on the list once I got to the nomination thread. I really like the medical memoir prompt, but knowing some people's thoughts on nonfiction, I think it might be too limiting. If medical memoir doesn't get voted in, I think it would be good to go with a broader prompt.I've also discovered graphic novels and memoirs through these challenges and they've really grown on me.
Mod
I would have preferred a general biography/memoir prompt. I've read a few medical memoirs and have found the authors to be a bit insufferable. It'll likely be a downvote for me. But I would upvote a broader memoir topic.
Mod
I'm not opposed to them but I don't own any and wouldn't know where to start. I did read March: Book One by John Lewis for another challenge and that was good, but I felt I wasn't the intended audience. I am largely a word person, not a visual person so I tend to just read the words and the art is lost on me. My husband will laugh hysterically at Sunday comics because of the art.
Anything that is limited to just non-fiction is usually a downvote for me, and especially biographies/memoirs. I tend to find them so dry.I'd love to see contemporary fiction in some form on the list, but I feel like it tends to get automatically downvoted because people assume it's "women's fiction" (as much as I hate that term), and very limiting.
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Around the Year in 52 Books
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I just did the exact same thing several weeks ago by purchasing used copies of the HP paperbacks from my local indie bookstore (since I figured Kindle Unlimited would still send royalties her way even though it'd be free for me). I'm somewhat curious about her other books, but I plan on getting used copies of those as well if I ever start them.
(And this is the first I'm hearing about Jamie McGuire being anti-vaxx, actually. Not great to hear, but not quite bad enough for me to toss her books out!)