[2021] Poll 6 Voting

[Nancy]

I don't think anyone has said that adults shouldn't read any children's books because they aren't children.

No one has said it directly but it's certainly been implied. I get a sense that some people think children's books are beneath them. But maybe I'm reading too much into some of the comments.

I'm not saying they should be used for adults to learn about the topics. I think they could be used by adults to learn how kids are learning about the topics, if they wanted.

But there are also just some really good children's books out there and people may be surprised by the quality of those books today.

[Jillian]

I felt there was genre snobbery about the children’s award prompt which is why I ended up voting for it. I see nothing wrong with not caring for a genre but I don’t approve of treating some genres as inferior.

[Martha]

I love children's books and always try and read a few every year. I looked at the prompts we already have and voted 4/4. I voted for genre prompts, downvoted title/cover prompts.

[Joyce]

Avery wrote: The REM song sounds depressing...

It doesn’t have to be. Lyrics include:

“Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly beans, boom!”

[°~Amy~°]

Can a mod check if my vote went through please?

Thank you

[Katie]

I'm with you, Avery. I'm not very inspired by these suggestions. I used all down votes in the last poll, so I was hoping to be more excited by this batch. I'm wondering if part of my problem is so many years of doing reading challenges that I tend to be resistant to any that feel like prompts I've done before. Not that I can really complain, because I haven't even been able to think of any suggestions myself. I really need to brainstorm.

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

°~Amy~° wrote: "Can a mod check if my vote went through please?

Thank you"

I've gone through the responses and yours isn't there. Try it again!

[Rachel]

This was a tough round because there was very little that really jumped out to me. The only thing I really had very strong feelings about was the Nobel Prize prompt. No offense to whoever suggested it, but I hate that one every time it comes up because I find it so limiting.

I voted for pronoun in the title, Most Popular Lists, physical disability, and alliteration in the title. The alliteration one was a last-minute decision, but I saw several books that I'm really looking forward to reading that would fit, so it seemed like a good idea.

Downvotes were mineral, Nobel Prize, travel theme, and the traditions around turning 21. I'd be able to find something for any of them if I had to, but they were the ones I was least interested in.

[°~Amy~°]

Jackie wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Can a mod check if my vote went through please?

Thank you"

I've gone through the responses and yours isn't there. Try it again!"

Thank you Jackie. I have this really annoying habit of x'ing out of the page after taking screenshots instead of finishing the survey the correct way. Usually I catch it. Not this time apparently!

[Ellie]

Katie wrote: "I'm wondering if part of my problem is so many years of doing reading challenges that I tend to be resistant to any that feel like prompts I've done before..."

I don't mind repeat prompts so much, unless they are ones I didn't like in the first place. I worry that trying to make every prompt unique results in a less appealing list. I know I am struggling to come up with new ideas.

[Irene]

Darn, I'm sad that I missed the suggestions thread for the third time in a row :( I might have to give up on suggesting my prompts. I generally don't log in to Goodreads until 9 p.m. CST or later (if that's the main time zone they're posted in).

Oh well, there was a lot of variety this time around!

I upvoted the children's book because YA is one of my favorite genres and some of my all-time favorites include The Outsiders, the HP series, and The Book Thief. I disagree about people saying children's books simplify serious issues - they do sometimes, but not always. One of the books I've been meaning to read is The Hate U Give because I think reading about racism from the point of view of a black teenager in America today is incredibly valuable to people of all ages/backgrounds.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Irene, you could post your ideas in The Wild Discussion thread and ask someone to submit for you. I love this whole process, but it's not always accessible to everyone. I am retired and can watch this during the day, but when I was working, I would have missed them all. And the time zone issue is a real one. As it is, I was tied up for a few hours during this last poll and missed the whole thing, I didn't have something to submit, and I've actually had 2 of my ideas selected already, so I have no personal complaints. Our mods are amazing, so no criticism intended. And the fact that it goes so quickly reveals a high level of participation. There are many groups on GR where only a few people ever respond to anything!

[Joan]

I have a lot of books with color in the title so I upvoted that. I also picked the goodreads most popular lists as well as the novella and the children's prompt.

I downvoted the nobel prize one. I can usually only find a few on that list and I think I read them already.

[Ellie]

I would have thought that only having US mods would scupper my chances at participating but actually if they post in the morning the thread seems to take longer to fill up and I can see it whilst I'm chained to my computer for work!

If it's clear from the wild discussion of the wording, I'll happily submit ideas for others.

[Pam]

I really like the children’s book suggestion. There are so many wonderful books out there! I never considered reading kids books, other than Harry Potter, until I had to several years ago, while doing my education program. I was so surprised at the quality of the books that I’ve continued reading a few every year! Sometimes after reading a lot of heavy books (material and weight), it’s enjoyable to read something lighter and well-written that you can finish in a day.

I also like the travel theme prompt since I really want to read a travel memoir by Paul Theroux. I also have some Bill Bryson books to get to!

[Juliet]

I downvoted the children’s book one, but not because I don’t read children’s books. I read several a year, but the ‘awards’ part put me off. Those always seem to go to the serious downers and I’m not interested in that in any genre

[Alexx]

Lots of interesting prompts this time round, it took me forever to decide!

I upvoted the travel prompt (because my boyfriend and I were meant to go travelling for a year in September which has now been cancelled for the foreseeable future so I’ll just have to read about it in a book!), the Goodreads most popular list one, a cross genre novel, a novella, a book that won an award for a genre you don’t normally read, and the physical disability prompt.

I downvoted the pronoun prompt (just didn’t sound exciting to me) and the 21 prompt because it isn’t an important age in the UK.

I really liked the children’s book prompt and that was the one that I couldn’t decide whether to upvote instead of another prompt or not. Decided against it in the end but I won’t be upset if that wins

[Ruth]

Joyce wrote: "I missed the word “it” when copying and pasting and, of course, it should read “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” for the REM song title.

Btw, since Lenny Bruce is mention..."

I have that book about 30 yrs and never read it! Definitely will be voting for that REM prompt. Cheers for the tip :)

[Angie]

I forgot it was list creation time! Well, better late than never. I can't remember exactly how I voted, but I definitely went with the REM prompt. I love fun stuff like that.

[Irene]

It seems like in the Wild Discussion they're posting about that a possible thread for suggestion lists so perhaps I'll try posting over there before the next poll! I also really appreciate everything the mods are doing, it's just a matter of the time zone not working out for me, so maybe I'll just swallow my pride and ask people for help!

[Johanna]

Love the REM one. I loved the We Didn't Start the Fire prompt, and was hoping for something similar. I'm glad someone thought of this.
And the Google Doodle one - how clever!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Today is the last day to vote in this poll!

[Nancy]

So, I'm curious, are people still voting at this point in the poll? I've never participated in the voting process before so forgive the newbie question. It just seems a long time to keep the poll open so I was curious if people really do vote the last couple of days.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

We usually get about 12-15% of our votes in the last day of the voting process.

EDIT: This year, anyway. I can't speak to previous years!

[Marie]

In previous years we had much longer to vote, so this year feels like the polling time is really quick to me!

I'm a late voter, I like a bit of thinking space and to take the time to research my options for all the prompts before voting, and not just go on my initial reactions. I hate regretting a downvote if something changes my mind when it's too late.

[Jill]

I have also felt that this year is rushed

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Many people wished the process moved faster, which is why we shortened the voting time by around 2 days per poll. :)

We do have a schedule posted if you're having trouble keeping track of when voting will happen.

[Entropia]

I on the other hand wish that voting would be even faster, I usually vote at the beginning and then I can't wait for the results ^___^'

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I always have an immediate opinion about just about everything! This has gotten me in trouble numerous times in my work and personal life. I'm impressed by people who take time to think about things and people who plan ahead. I doubt that I will plan any of my books till the end of the year, and even then I will make lots of changes.

[Nadine in NY]

I am loving this years faster pace

[Angie]

I prefer the faster pace. Even if I want to vote later in the voting period, I have time to think about options.

[Nancy]

Emily wrote: "We usually get about 12-15% of our votes in the last day of the voting process.

EDIT: This year, anyway. I can't speak to previous years!"

That's interesting. I wonder if that's because of the reminder though? And the last day would have more votes no matter when it is?

I admit I'm impatient though, and I too just vote right away. Maybe I should wait and let some discussion happen.

[Kathy]

I love the faster pace too. I usually vote the first day. I go through all the discussion of the various prompt before I vote though. Some discussion has changed my mind because some people show a different angle than I would have thought of for the prompts.

[Jill]

I usually vote the first day, but then I have plenty of time to spend on the computer . Just some people at work who don't have the opportunity may find it difficult.

[Roxana]

I have almost missed most of the poll windows this year, so I suspect I’m usually one of the people likely to vote on it near the last day, even if my opinions were set before it opened. :)

[[deleted user]]

Roxana wrote: "I have almost missed most of the poll windows this year, so I suspect I’m usually one of the people likely to vote on it near the last day, even if my opinions were set before it opened. :)"

same! i often miss threads or discussion so i am always later to the polls

[Martha]

I think back to last year and how we went several weeks in a row of getting only one prompt out of all the prompts into the challenge and how long we had to wait for the next vote hoping we'd get more than one prompt. I prefer this year's process to last year's.

I copied the planning schedule in a notebook so I know when to expect the suggestion/voting/and result dates. That's helped me remember.

[Jkmays]

THis is my first year to participate in the voting process, so I have nothing to compare it to. But I like the pace, if it were slower, I think I would kinda forget about it and miss some votes.

[dalex]

Ugh the waiting. Haha.

[°~Amy~°]

Martha wrote: "I think back to last year and how we went several weeks in a row of getting only one prompt out of all the prompts into the challenge and how long we had to wait for the next vote hoping we'd get m..."

Oh, that was torture! I love the sped up process this year as far as voting. I don't think the suggestions themselves are taking any more or less time. They always have filled up quickly, until the last two or three votes at least.