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[2021] The Wild Discussion
I wasn’t clear from the description- if I propose a topic and it doesn’t win, can I submit the same topic on a different week? Not that I intend to do that, just curious.

Yes, Jillian is right! We typically have a rule that if a prompt has been suggested and not made it on to the list three times, it can no longer be suggested, and if a prompt ends up in our bottom votes, it can no longer be suggested. But most people jump in this thread and workshop their prompts if that does happen and they want to resubmit.
So excited for this process to start!
So excited for this process to start!
I'm not sure if it happens to anyone else but I tend to get ideas for prompts here and there. Essentially a "oh, that would make a good prompt!" moment.
If people would find it useful, I can reserve this comment for people's ideas. That would allow them to be commented on ahead of the voting and saved for later :)
This has been suggested before but, A book recommended by an author
There's a fun summer article with recommendations: https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1836
If people would find it useful, I can reserve this comment for people's ideas. That would allow them to be commented on ahead of the voting and saved for later :)
This has been suggested before but, A book recommended by an author
There's a fun summer article with recommendations: https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/1836
I've been thinking about lists and awards (those are really always my favorite prompts), and I found that the National Book Award website is really easy to navigate (a huge plus!) and has a ton of options from different genres.
https://www.nationalbook.org/national...
So maybe A book that won or was nominated for a National Book Award.
https://www.nationalbook.org/national...
So maybe A book that won or was nominated for a National Book Award.
Laura, I like that prompt, and I feel like people can make it easier by looking at the blurbs on books (like, John Green having a short comment printed on the cover of another person's YA novel). I personally don't care about author recommendations, but I do like that it's pretty open-ended.

I'm not sure if it matters or not but the National Book Award was a prompt in 2019 and it is also covered this year in the 10 most coveted awards.
Was it really? Ha! That's what I get for not even looking at previous challenges. I mean, I finished 2019's challenge, but I do not remember that prompt. Good to know!

Emily wrote: "I've been thinking about lists and awards (those are really always my favorite prompts), and I found that the National Book Award website is really easy to navigate (a huge plus!) and has a ton of ..."
That's funny, those are my least favorite prompts in that there is no room for creativity on my part. It's just a matter of looking at the lists. It's not a problem as I generally read some of those books anyway. But there is no great "aha!" moment as there is when I figure out a book will fit a certain theme, cover, type of author, etc.
That's funny, those are my least favorite prompts in that there is no room for creativity on my part. It's just a matter of looking at the lists. It's not a problem as I generally read some of those books anyway. But there is no great "aha!" moment as there is when I figure out a book will fit a certain theme, cover, type of author, etc.


I prefer open prompts where I have lots of options to choose from over narrow prompts, like read a book from a specific sub-genre, which might be a genre I really don't want to read.
The prompts I really don't like are prompts that I won't know if a book would count until I have actually read it. For example, read a book that makes you laugh out loud / cry / feel sad etc.
It's so interesting to see all of our different perspectives. I like lists because it helps me narrow down ALL OF THE OPTIONS. I liked the National Book Award because it covered fiction, YA, and nonfiction, so there's a good bit of variety in the lists. But I'll probably go look at other lists and awards since we had that one so recently.

I think recommended by a celebrity is one of those prompts that was good the first time, but at this point we've had it so many times. Especially since I do multiple challenges each year, I've had so many iterations of it : recommended by a celebrity, from a celebrity book club, recommended by oprah, etc etc. That's how I feel about all the variations of "book made into a movie" too. I've gone through all the options I'm interested in at this point.


I don't enjoy looking at list of books and having to pick from them. I think, it has to do with doing so many challenges for so long. Most books on list seem to fit three categories: either I have read the book, I've already reread it several times, or I have zero interest every reading the book.
I have also found that how I vote does not always reflect how I feel about the prompt once I get to it. There are some prompts that I wonder why did I vote for that I cannot find any books I want to read for it and others why did I down vote that prompt it is wonderful.
Johanne wrote: "I think it has a lot to do with how you go about the challenge. I like to read the books I want and then figure out where to put them afterwards/ during. So I like the 'choose a book with a cool ti..."
Yes, this is my method. I mostly read what I feel like and then figure out where it goes, or I look at a few books I mean to read soon and assign them. It was only after finishing some books that I could know they were "about the arts", or had a dual timeline.
I think a lot has to do with where we are in life. When I was in my 20's I really had no idea what to read. There was no internet (!) The only thing I had was Book of the Month Club and a few articles in the newspaper. There were also no book groups. So lists would have been handy. Now I get input daily from several newsletters (Book Riot, Lit Hub, BookMarks,NY Times, Atlantic, as well as GR) and my library has all kinds of lists. And I belong to book groups online & in person. I have lots of TBR books.
I really like the open-ended nature of ATY challenges. I did Read Harder for a couple years and I commend the goal of getting you to read from different cultures/voices/races, but I found I was reading things I really wasn't interested in. Life is too short! This group has prompts that are challenging enough without limiting my options and that's why I joined.
Yes, this is my method. I mostly read what I feel like and then figure out where it goes, or I look at a few books I mean to read soon and assign them. It was only after finishing some books that I could know they were "about the arts", or had a dual timeline.
I think a lot has to do with where we are in life. When I was in my 20's I really had no idea what to read. There was no internet (!) The only thing I had was Book of the Month Club and a few articles in the newspaper. There were also no book groups. So lists would have been handy. Now I get input daily from several newsletters (Book Riot, Lit Hub, BookMarks,NY Times, Atlantic, as well as GR) and my library has all kinds of lists. And I belong to book groups online & in person. I have lots of TBR books.
I really like the open-ended nature of ATY challenges. I did Read Harder for a couple years and I commend the goal of getting you to read from different cultures/voices/races, but I found I was reading things I really wasn't interested in. Life is too short! This group has prompts that are challenging enough without limiting my options and that's why I joined.

How about 2 books with similar titles, but in different genres-



Some ideas I've had -
- a book mentioned in another book that you read for the challenge. Might be fun trying to find a book you want to read mentioned within another book you have to read.
- a book that you delayed reading. I know there was a prompt for this year relating to the 2020 olympics, which has been been pushed back, so might be fun to read a book that you pushed back, or that the release date was delayed.
- a book related to your favourite Disney film. Disney might be too specific, but you could read a fairytale retelling, a book with royalty (or superheroes if Marvel is your thing) or just a book with the same character name.
- a book from the Rory Gilmore reading list. Gilmore Girls - it's a massive list, but mainly classics, so might not be everyones cup of tea.

I love this! Also, thank you for letting me know about the Diagram Prize, looking at the list of past winners, and loving these titles!!
Barb, I like that idea, but I'm interested to see how it would play out in the voting. Multi-week prompts are always hit or miss but I like that one because it's pretty easy to connect the titles and it makes you read two different genres.
Serendipity, I love that! You would definitely need to either define what you mean by "lesser-known" award, or you would need to give a list. People generally don't like ambiguity when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Mairead, I really like the Disney idea, especially now that they have expanded to Star Wars (for sci-fi people) and Marvel. We've had the Rory Gilmore prompt in the past, but I think it was maybe 2017 or 2018... so you can suggest it and see how it goes. The delayed prompt is also intriguing (some of my most anticipated books have had pushed back release dates), but it could also go with books you bought and didn't read right away, or books you had on your plan for this year but switched out for another one... I think there's a lot of opportunity to personalize it.
Serendipity, I love that! You would definitely need to either define what you mean by "lesser-known" award, or you would need to give a list. People generally don't like ambiguity when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Mairead, I really like the Disney idea, especially now that they have expanded to Star Wars (for sci-fi people) and Marvel. We've had the Rory Gilmore prompt in the past, but I think it was maybe 2017 or 2018... so you can suggest it and see how it goes. The delayed prompt is also intriguing (some of my most anticipated books have had pushed back release dates), but it could also go with books you bought and didn't read right away, or books you had on your plan for this year but switched out for another one... I think there's a lot of opportunity to personalize it.




Kathy wrote: "I really like the lesser-known literary prize idea. We could have a list of awards to choose from like we did this year for the top 10 awards."
I like the idea of the lesser known book awards, but I wouldn't want to be told I have to choose from these 10 specific book awards. I think when submission time comes, it would be good to offer people examples of lesser known awards but to be clear that *any* lesser known award could be used.
I like the idea of the lesser known book awards, but I wouldn't want to be told I have to choose from these 10 specific book awards. I think when submission time comes, it would be good to offer people examples of lesser known awards but to be clear that *any* lesser known award could be used.

I also don’t plan ahead what I’m using for the challenge. I pick a book that interest me & is available through a library resource. Then I see what prompt it fits.
I imagine that many states and regions have prizes for best book set there or by a local author. They may not get a lot of attention or give big money, but they are still prizes.
Somewhat related are books that have been chosen for citywide reads. A number of cities have had projects (usually organized by libraries) where as many people as possible are encouraged to read a certain book and sometimes the author will come to speak. It might take a little research to find those books. Here in Madison, WI, we have had it for maybe 15 years, other cities like Chicago, Seattle, etc. have similar projects. Many colleges now have a title they ask all incoming freshmen to read.
Somewhat related are books that have been chosen for citywide reads. A number of cities have had projects (usually organized by libraries) where as many people as possible are encouraged to read a certain book and sometimes the author will come to speak. It might take a little research to find those books. Here in Madison, WI, we have had it for maybe 15 years, other cities like Chicago, Seattle, etc. have similar projects. Many colleges now have a title they ask all incoming freshmen to read.



Same same. I do miss browsing the library and picking up books that catch my eye (for better or worse). In 2019, I was upset that the indigenous peoples prompt made it in because I had no book on my (pretty extensive) TBR that would fit... and the book I ended up reading was one of my favorites of the year! (Trail of Lightning)
I try to keep that in mind while I'm voting... some prompts seem so constrictive and specific or out of my wheelhouse, but they end up bringing out the best books.
I try to keep that in mind while I'm voting... some prompts seem so constrictive and specific or out of my wheelhouse, but they end up bringing out the best books.
A question for the crowd:
Is there anything you'd like to see or like to see changed with the 2021 voting process?
The mods are hammering down the details now, and we have shortened the process as many have requested, but I just wanted to throw it out to the group.
Is there anything you'd like to see or like to see changed with the 2021 voting process?
The mods are hammering down the details now, and we have shortened the process as many have requested, but I just wanted to throw it out to the group.


Is there anything you'd like to see or like to see changed with the 2021 voting process?
The mods are hammering down the details now, and we have shortened the process a..."
I know that the process is some what fluid but I think it would be helpful to have a little bit more defined plans in a few areas. Just so we are all on the same page. Such as how many prompts per poll ( a random example would be 20 for the first 10 polls then 15 for the remaining polls), and how we are doing multi-prompts from the start. It felt a little confusing last year what was the actual plan and what was just a general discussion.
I think that you all do a great job!

I really like the list making process..no complaints here.
Maybe it would be easier to define “A book that won an award that you had never heard of” or something along those lines. It implies lesser known but doesn’t require you to decide what qualifies as lesser known.
Jillian, we are planning on having a set number of suggestions from the beginning (probably 15), and we will probably have a poll to see how the group would like to handle multi-week prompts to hopefully avoid the confusion from last year.


I love this idea of themed polls. It would hopefully mean that the final list would be balanced and not too heavy on one area.
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Our Wild Discussion is the place where you can talk about possible prompts you might want to suggest, give recommendations for various topics, ask the mods questions, pose questions to the group, and generally get excited about the voting process.
As always, please be respectful of the group members here... we may not all share the same opinion, but we do require a respectful discourse.
You can see our voting schedule on this thread!