[2021] The Wild Discussion Showing 351-400 of 2,279

[Hilde]

I like the idea, but I also prefer your original "lesser-known" to "never heard of".

[Entropia]

I also prefer lesser-known, "never heard of" can be either too limiting or too broad, depending on how much you pay attention to literary prizes.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I personally hate having ( ) in the prompts... probably just a me thing. That being said, I don't think you need (by you or others) in there. We can put the description of "lesser known" in the suggestions thread and the voting thread and the weekly thread it if it gets in (I would definitely vote for it). And if people really want a solid definition of "lesser known" just say it shouldn't be on the "most coveted" list from this year lol.

[°~Amy~°]

Ellie wrote: "I definitely would prefer it not to be "never heard of" as otherwise I have to go hunting for something obscure. I'm happy for people to determine what counts as lesser known for themselves."

I would agree, that would be a very difficult for find for some of us that have been doing reading challenges for years. My preference would be for "a book nominated for a lesser-known literary prize"

[Aimee]

I also like the idea of lesser-known prizes, particularly as the Summer Challenge has just introduced me to the LAMBDA awards which I'd never heard of before!

Also, I had a prompt idea which I wanted to throw into the mix. It seems like at the moment I keep coming across book titles with names in, e.g. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue or The Confessions of Frannie Langton.
How about a prompt along the lines of "a book where the protagonist's name is in the title?"

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Aimee, I think we had something similar in the 2019 challenge (A book with a person's name in the title). It didn't focus on the protagonist, so that is a different twist. That being said, I always vote for title prompts because they are so easy to find books for haha!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I know it was suggested but not seconded, but I would like to suggest

A book mentioned on ATY's Best Books of the Month list

If it makes it in, we could reopen the threads so people can go back and add in their books (assuming they haven't done it already). It would be a good way to get a list created from group recommendations, but it is narrow enough because people are only posting one or two books per month.

[Traci]

Emily wrote: "I know it was suggested but not seconded, but I would like to suggest

A book mentioned on ATY's Best Books of the Month lists

If it makes it in, we could reopen the threads so people can go back..."

I like this one! I was going to second it, but there were already 15.

[Lizzy]

Emily wrote: "I know it was suggested but not seconded, but I would like to suggest

A book mentioned on ATY's Best Books of the Month list

If it makes it in, we could reopen the threads so people can go back ..."

I also like this prompt.... I've already added so many titles from these threads.

[Ellie]

I think the best of lists need a bit more participation to be appealing to me. I like the idea but it's currently looking quite limiting.

[Alicia]

I know it depends on a number of factors, but generally how do the mods decide what is in the top and bottom of the polls(i.e a specific percentage threshold?”)?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

We look at the number of people who voted the prompt up, voted the prompt down, and the net. Then Jackie put together some magical calculations (including averages and standard deviations) that are based on our last couple of years of voting, and it gives us who should be in the top. Bottom are usually pretty obvious, with a large net loss (if up votes are positive and down votes are negative). Polarizing and close call are a bit more subjective... if we see a prompt has a good bit of upvotes but not enough to put them over the edge, they will be close calls. Polarizing has to have a high number of both upvotes and downvotes.

[Alicia]

Thanks Emily! This is my first year voting, and will be my second year doing the challenge. I’m excited to start some of these prompts.

[Rachel]

Ellie wrote: "I think the best of lists need a bit more participation to be appealing to me. I like the idea but it's currently looking quite limiting."

I was thinking the same. I like the idea in theory, but I read through the lists yesterday to see what the options were, and many were books I'd already read or have no interest in reading. I'm wondering if it would be a better suggestion closer to the end of the year, so there are more options to choose from? Or if there was a way to somehow encourage more people to participate?

[Serendipity]

I like the idea of this one too. The past monthly threads are locked but I know the mods said they could be reopened it this prompt gets voted in. Hopefully that would be an incentive for those -like me - who haven’t yet posted to do so. Of course it means we’d be voting for the prompt blind in some ways, not knowing what would books we’d be able to pick from.

[Jillian]

Serendipity, Emily unlocked the threads today.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I didn’t always post on those but I will go back and do it.

[Alicia]

So I definitely don't have the wording down (aka any formal wording), but I was thinking a prompt that discusses women overcoming injustices/oppression specifically against women.

This could be a non-fiction about the Suffrage Movement and women succeeding in gaining the right to vote, something like The Last Mrs. Parrish about spousal abuse, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires about how men disregarded women's opinions in the south in the 90s, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban that shouldn't have even been able to get an education, let alone write a book.

Thoughts? Is it too dark of a topic? I was hoping it would show how strong women are and how we can overcome some of the worst situations.

[Juliet]

I really like the topic, maybe wording like a woman protagonist overcoming misogyny?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Or even just "A book featuring a theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles" -- with systemic obstacles being all the barriers that are in place in society, including domestic abuse and lack of education opportunities and sexual assault and the suffrage movement. Misogyny is technically correct, but when I read that word, I think very specifically of blatant sexism (which admittedly could just be a me thing), and not all the other ways women are kept from succeeding in society.

[Alicia]

Thanks Juliet & Emily!

I like the "systematic obstacles". It's a good way of encompassing a broad array of issues. I think that was my struggle, trying to figure out how to put all these issues into one bucket.

[Chelsey]

I love the women overcoming prompt!!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

This could include fiction like Jane Eyre or Little Women. Those heroines have to overcome obstacles. There are also contemporary novels that would fit and many nonfiction books, including some in honor of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in the US this year.

[Conny]

I like the sound of that, too. It's broad enough to accommodate a wide range of tastes in books and specific enough to be a challenge. Plus, obviously, it's a topic that is unfortunately still way more relevantbthan it should be.

[Irene]

Emily wrote: "Or even just "A book featuring a theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles" -- with systemic obstacles being all the barriers that are in place in society, including domestic abuse and lack of e..."

Edit: Oops!! Saw the reply that said "systematic" and mistakenly assumed the original post had also spelled it that way. Sorry for not paying close attention to who posted what!!

Do you mean "systemic" rather than "systematic"?
Systemic is the one that would relate to societal barriers as it would refer to obstacles arising from the partriarchy/sexism/etc, whereas systematic refers to something methodical/organized/planned.

[Ashley]

A thought of this one the other day. Not sure how people feel about it .

A book involving an "angel" - this could be the name of a character or a character that was influenced by someone who has died. Or it can be on a more personal level. If you have an "angel," someone you lost that you were close with, a character in a book that has the same role.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Poll 2 results are posted!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Sherri]

I was thinking of a graphic novel of any genre. Fiction,nonfiction, memoir,fairy tales, science fiction,etc.

[Ashley]

Sherri wrote: "I was thinking of a graphic novel of any genre. Fiction,nonfiction, memoir,fairy tales, science fiction,etc."

I think this would be difficult as it requires a specific type of book. I don't know about a lot of people, but I do not like graphic novels. I have tried to read them but they are a type of book that I do not enjoy.
What about making it to it so it would include other books. Something about not being written in the usual novel format. It could be a book written like a poem, graphic novel, interviews. Something that would be a different kind of book that graphic novel would fit in without being required. Just a thought.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

You could also do "a book with illustrations". That would allow for graphic novels, but also for any book with illustrations (like the prompt that was suggested in round one).

[Chelsey]

I am trying to read more graphic novels so I would upvote it but it might end up being polarizing ss most people either love or hate them.

[Sara]

I hate them. If it were voted in with no alternative possibility, I would have to use my wildcard (which I try NEVER to do).

[Juliet]

I think it would be polarizing, I generally hate graphic novels as well and whenever they show up in one of the challenges I do go with ‘what is free on Kindle Unlimited’ and even that is a pain because I have to find my tablet since they don’t display well on most ereaders

[Conny]

Maybe you could broaden it to "A book that relies on more than just text to tell its story"? That would include graphic novels but also books with illustrations or doodles or interactive elements of any kind.

[°~Amy~°]

I thought I hated graphic novels until I had it as a challenge a few years back. The book I choose for it then had the most heart wrenching storyline and just absolutely gorgeous artwork. I have loved them ever since.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I'm not opposed to graphic novels as a whole. I grew up on comic books. But they are generally short and I feel there isn't enough to them, just like I feel about short stories and short books. Also, I am not a very visual person, so I tend to just read the words, not paying much attention to the pictures, layout, etc. I assume the art is a big part of the creation, which I am not appreciating as much as my artist husband does.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'm the same, Robin. I've read and loved some books with illustrations/graphic novels (A Monster Calls, The One Hundred Nights of Hero), but I'm not a visual person so I end up missing out on some of the nuance of the story because I'm not paying attention to the graphics.

I think "a book with illustrations" would be short and sweet and would cover the bases of graphic novels, but also books that contain doodles and drawings.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

There are other books that have illustrations such as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. They aren't exactly drawings but graphs and other images. A number of fantasy books have maps. Many memoirs and biographies have photos. I had an idea of a general prompt "A book that includes maps, photos, drawings, or illustrations".

[[deleted user]]

what about a book told in a multimedia format? that covers all sorts of books -- epistolary like This Is How You Lose the Time War, told through documents like Illuminae, told completely in texts like Technically, You Started It, told through interviews like Daisy Jones & The Six, or including emails like Love, Rosie or Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

[Conny]

annie wrote: "what about a book told in a multimedia format? that covers all sorts of books -- epistolary like This Is How You Lose the Time War, told through documents like Illuminae

I would vote for that! It's also what I meant by my earlier post suggesting ""A book that relies on more than just text to tell its story", but yours is better worded :D
I've always loved books that include something else besides plain old narrative (superb as it may be), and now there are even more options – Night Film even has an accompanying app you can download and use to scan various pages in the book to unlock extras for special immersion.

[[deleted user]]

Conny wrote: "annie wrote: "what about a book told in a multimedia format? that covers all sorts of books -- epistolary like This Is How You Lose the Time War, told through documents like [book:I..."

sorry! i must have missed that when i was trying to catch up on comments but i've also always been a fan of this formatting too and there's a lot of options for it, for nonfiction and fiction

[Conny]

I've been thinking about a few other ideas in different categories over the weekend:

A book about or set in a city or country which used to be under a different rule and/or have a different name
This could refer to former colonies as well as individual countries (e. g. Thailand used to be Siam; former Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia) or cities (Istanbul, formerly Constantinople; St. Petersburg, which used to be Leningrad; Saigon, which became Ho Chi Minh City, and so on). It could include both non-fiction and fiction (with a slight emphasis on historical fiction, I guess).

Then I came up with:
A book featuring non-photographic cover artwork
That one came to me when I was looking through my books and thinking about various cover designs (drawings, paintings, graphics, text-only, etc.). Could be something for everyone.

And to celebrate the year 2021, how about:
A book by an author who has been in the business for at least 21 years
Meaning they must have published their first book in or before the year 2000.

Would any of these be worth submitting for voting, what do you think?

[[deleted user]]

these are some great ideas!

the recent illustrated cover trend in romances would be perfect for the cover one.

[Joyce]

I think "a book with ilustrations" is the best way to go for a rewording of my illustrations suggestion in round one.

However, if I'm online at the right time today, I'm going to propose the lyrics to REM's "It's the End of the World..." hoping it doesn't seem too much like a Covid anthem.

[Entropia]

I like multimedia prompt, I could finish reading Cyclonopedia: Complicity with Anonymous Materials for it :D
"A book about or set in a city or country which used to be under a different rule and/or have a different name" is very insteresting, I like how I could make it very challenging for or very easy for myself.
"A book featuring non-photographic cover artwork" would give me a lot of options, so I would probably vote for it too.
"A book by an author who has been in the business for at least 21 years" - this one is the one from Conny's suggestions that I'm least enthusiastic about, but probably after looking into it I'd find some options.

[Irene]

Apologies if this has already been suggested or done in the past, but what do you guys think of, "A book that references a character (fictional or non-fictional) in the title without explicitly naming them?"

Obviously the wording could use some work, but here are some examples, off the top of my head:
The Alchemist, The Diary of a Young Girl, The Aviator's Wife, The Cruel Prince, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (because of the half-blood prince part), The Silent Patient, The Kite Runner and I guess even books like The Bird and the Sword where the titular bird/sword are referencing the human characters.

This prompt is probably easiest for people who like fantasy, historical fiction, biographies, and memoirs, but I think it might be reasonably flexible for all genres.

[Entropia]

Irene wrote: "Apologies if this has already been suggested or done in the past, but what do you guys think of, "A book that references a character (fictional or non-fictional) in the title without explicitly nam..."

I think I would vote for it, I remember at least couple of books from my tbr that follow this format.

[Conny]

Irene wrote: "A book that references a character (fictional or non-fictional) in the title without explicitly naming them"

I like that :) It is a nice variation of the "protagonist's name in the title" prompt that I'm sure we've had before. I can also think of a number of books off the top of my head, like The Exorcist, The Alienist, or The Time Traveller's Wife ...

[Irene]

Thanks for the feedback!! :)

Yes, I just noticed that the titular characters often times aren't the protagonists, which is interesting!

And I think the prompt could include groups of people as well, like The Magicians or Crazy Rich Asians because it'd still count as referencing characters without naming them.

[Sara]

Really like this one...I can think of many titles that would work and that I would be interested in reading.