Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2021] Poll 15 Voting
Let's just say the late 80s were a much better time for bestsellers than the early 70s!
Wendy wrote: "Traci wrote: "(don't love the "must read list" part)I hope that when people see "must read list" they aren't thinking they are stuck with the same 100 classics that get mentioned ad nauseum. A wi..."
For me it's a big leap to assume any list is a must read list. I would want the list to say something about "must read" but I agree I automatically though of those lists of classics people keep trying to make me read. I am struggling to find something where I don't like the cover though so I am not sure I am swayed to turn my downvote into an upvote.
One example from this year is the US cover of The Glass Hotel which I don't like but it's on a lot of must read lists. However my UK copy was so pretty! So would I just go with the fact the edition on the lists isn't to my liking?
Harini wrote: "But I would also like to clarify that when I said bestseller it doesn't really have to be a bestseller in that particular year. ..."I guess you could make that argument, but I know for myself, if someone tells me to read "a best seller from a certain year," I'm going to choose a book that was a best seller in that year, because that's what that means to me. I don't see any wiggle room. And yes, "best sellers" have changed a lot over the years! In 1967, they all seem either sexist, or depressing, or boring, or all three at once! Who the heck was buying these books back then?? (And it's funny that I hadn't even heard of a few of them - they did not have any staying power!)
Ellie wrote: "So would I just go with the fact the edition on the lists isn't to my liking?"Sure, I don't see why not, especially if you encountered the US cover first (from the lists or where ever) and got it anyway.
I see what you mean about the "must read" thing, I would probably look for "must read" or "should read" when i'm looking at lists. there's some KIS room in there for "any list" though, I'd say.
After a preliminary review of the list, the only one that jumped out at me as an automatic downvote was the bestseller from your birth year--there was a very similar prompt in the Popsugar challenge a few years ago, and I struggled with it because there was not much to choose from (Danielle Steele, Jackie Collins, Robert Ludlum... no thank you!) But after poking around a bit I found a 1986 listopia (I'm sure there are similar lists for other years,) which contained a fair amount of books I'd be interested in, including the original Babysitter's Club! If you expand it to the top 100 or something published in your birth year, you might find a lot more compelling choices than the top 10 listed by the New York Times. So I think I might vote for it after all.
Nadine wrote: "Also, Better Homes and Gardens: Favorite Ways With Chicken, Turkey, Duck, and Game Birds. yeah I'm not reading that."This is funny to me because I'd totally read this 😂
Kelly wrote: "After a preliminary review of the list, the only one that jumped out at me as an automatic downvote was the bestseller from your birth year--there was a very similar prompt in the Popsugar challeng..."I read a V.C. Andrews book for that prompt and if it hadn't been a library book I would have thrown it in the recycling bin or a bonfire. But I also just looked at a more expanded list from my year and found some things I wouldn't mind reading, so I agree - don't limit yourself to the top of the bestseller list!
My year of birth is almost all Tom Clancy, Danielle Steel and Stephen King, none of which are my cup of tea. That'll probably be a downvote. I quite like classic romances so that's my favourite prompt this round
I feel I've done the "book from the year you were born" prompt so many times in so many variations that I've exhausted my options, so I definitely won't be voting for that one. And the classic romance, well, there is kind of a limited supply of those and while there are some classics I love dearly, I'm more or a contemporary reader (and I've already read all the Austen and Brontës etc. there are). I'm also not too keen on the cover prompt because I generally don't base my choices on the cover. I go for the title and the blurb.I'm excited for the recipe prompt, the Tropic of Cancer one, the trapped together one, the epistolary one, and the best reads of 2020 (loved it this year!) and my own suggestion (the real person fiction/fictitious person non-fiction one), so I guess I'll be up voting six and then figure out which of the ones I'm not keen on I am REALLY not keen on^^
Hey group (I'm fairly new here so excuse the vagueness) - I posted the suggestion for "classic romance" which does need some clarification...Maybe it could be kept broad by of course including CLASSIC classic romance like Jane Austen as well as books that have attained somewhat of a classic status by now, like "The Notebook." What do ya think?
Mod
Perhaps it could be either/or to make it more broad?
Emily wrote: "So more of "a romance that has become a classic" than "a classic romance"?"That's kind of the way I'm interpreting the prompt anyway. I'm in a classics group that broadly defines classics to include books written 1999 and earlier. Perhaps not the traditional definition of "classic," but one I'm open to...
Mod
Awesome, thank you! Does “A classic romance novel or modern romance novel that has become a classic” sound like appropriate wording for the poll?
Maybe “A classic romance (including modern classics)” ?
I suggested the illness/injury prompt, so I know I'm biased, but I don't think it warrants a seriously??? like it's the most heinous thing ever suggested. I'll admit that I didn't think about it in terms of coronavirus, and see how that could be a something people would want to stay away from.I was trying to think of a prompt based around a story element that could be common across many genres. A few years ago we had the prompt about a book involving a murder, so I saw this as something similar. Like others have said, mysteries, thrillers, science fiction & fantasy would all be genres where an injury could be a common plot element.
There are also medical memoirs, Sick: A Memoir or Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women's Pain, or books about mental health/illness that would fit the prompt as well.
Emily wrote: "So more of "a romance that has become a classic" than "a classic romance"?""Become a classic" seems to imply that it is a book that is so well known that many consider it classic, regarding of publication date. That would exclude books that could be defined as a classic by publication date, regardless of how well known the book is.
Also, I think we need to clarify if it means a romance novel (which is a very specific genre) or a novel with a love story central to the plot (which is something else entirely).
This romantic novel discussion reminds me of when I taught the Scarlet Letter to my AP class and lectured on the characteristics of Romantic literature (note the capital R) and then asked on the unit test: What makes the Scarlet Letter an example of Romantic literature? And inevitably 20% of the answers would be about why it was lowercase romantic.
Steve wrote: "This romantic novel discussion reminds me of when I taught the Scarlet Letter to my AP class and lectured on the characteristics of Romantic literature (note the capital R) and then asked on the un..."Ha, I was thinking along similar lines! I would probably read a Romantic novel myself.
Katie wrote: "I suggested the illness/injury prompt, so I know I'm biased, but I don't think it warrants a seriously??? like it's the most heinous thing ever suggested. I'll admit that I didn't think about it in..."FWIW Katie I didn't think that at all. A thriller would definitely work for this, or one of Lisa Genova's books, which are each about an illness or disease - Alzheimer's, ALS, etc. I didn't have a "Covid oh no!" reaction to the prompt at all.
Katie wrote: "I suggested the illness/injury prompt, so I know I'm biased, but I don't think it warrants a seriously??? like it's the most heinous thing ever suggested. I'll admit that I didn't think about it in..."I'm sorry for the Seriously???. The tone was off and I didn't mean that it was heinous. I was aiming for amusement and definitely fell flat. If it goes through, I'll probably read another book about the black death.
No ideas which way I’ll be voting yet. Bestseller the year you were born will be a downvote. Sorry to whoever suggested it but the older you get the harder it is to find anything you want to read and I feel like I’ve done this prompt or variations so many times and alway struggle. I think I will vote for own voices love story. While we’ve got plenty of prompts that could lead to diverse reading we don’t have a LGBTIQA+ prompt and this prompt would be one way of folding that in for those who want. I’ll probably also upvote the ATY book of month prompt since it’ll help make our challenge unique.
Margaret wrote: "Hi all, I suggested the #ownvoices prompt and I wanted to clarify that in my original suggestion I explicitly interpreted love as including books that’s about family or friend relationships, not ju..."I like the #ownvoices prompt personally. I have Tembe Locke's book From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home on my list and that would fit (I hope?!). I will probably upvote that one.
I really like the "year of your birth prompt" because think it might show what my parents and the people around them read when there where young, building a life and a family.I looked up some resources when I suggested it last time, so I just copy them here:
Listopia for most popular books published by year, on the top right you can change the year. https://www.goodreads.com/book/popula...
Best books by decade https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
Bestsellers of the last 100 years https://lithub.com/here-are-the-bigge...
Lists of The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_o...
Katie- I don’t think there’s anything bad or heinous about your illness/injury suggestion. Any other year it would be fine for me. I just don’t want to look for a book that involves illness or injury, not where I’m at right now with caring for 2 elderly parents in the middle of a pandemic. It’s been a really rough year! I just want lighter topics next year. I’m hoping we get a humorous prompt.
At first glance, there were a few that I loved and several that I wouldn't want, but mostly because I've done variations of them many times. I could live with any of them.My likely upvotes: epistolary, #ownvoices (I find it easy to find them, especially if you read YA), trapped together, and maybe injury/illness. I fully get why people might be put off the injury/illness prompt due to the pandemic, but I think there are plenty of options for it, and it's something I don't think I've seen before in a challenge.
I'm likely to downvote: classic romance, bestseller from the year I was born (I've done way too many prompts that involve books from the year I was born), unattractive cover, and maybe the fiction/non-fiction prompt because that feels like a combo of two very different ideas to me.
The only one I don't like off the bat is best seller from the year I was born. I'm with the other 80s babies where my options are basically a mix of Stephen King, Tom Clancy and Jackie Collins. I like the epistolary one. I downvoted the multimedia prompt because I also thought of some sort of audio/video/etc. I read a lot of audiobooks and then was confused if that counted or would be cheating. But I like the broader wording here and will be voting for it!
I have picked up books solely because of awesome covers, but I've never not read a book because of the cover. So I'm not sure where I would go with that. A "must read" list where I'm not wowed by the cover?
Final question/point, for "trapped together" does anyone have a listopia that isn't romance based? Interested to see what type of books show up for something like that.
Okay, now that I've had some time to think about the list...I love the real people prompt. I have read and enjoyed a lot of books that fit this definition. I have The Angel of Darkness still to read, and I'm on a waiting list for Ring Shout - probably won't get it until next year. So lots of options.
I love the "trapped together" prompt - it's right up my alley, as I love mystery books where people are isolated on an island, stuck on a train, or snowed in. Other ideas: Jurassic Park, Anxious People, Room, The Haunting of Hill House, and many others.
Several others I like: set in the 19th century, book written as documents, books with illustrations, and--to my surprise--classic romance (includes modern classics). I initially turned up my nose when I saw it, but I have books like The Prince of Tides, Rebecca, and The Accidental Tourist on my list. A little nudge to read them might be nice.
The only definite downvotes right now are "owned the longest" - honestly, I can't always remember to pick up milk at the store. How am I going to remember what book I've had the longest? I have hundreds of books acquired when I saw them on sale, etc. The other definite downvote will have to be bestseller prompt. It's just too specific--I could probably work with "year you were born," but narrowing it to bestseller gives me very little to work with.
I'm not entirely sure what all I'll vote for or against yet, but those are my thoughts right now.
I googled the trapped together prompt, and I found the terms "Bottle Novels" and "Forced Proximity." Here's some links for book ideas. A lot are romances, but I also think there's a lot of options for books about people stuck with a kidnapper, stuck in a loveless marriage or abusive relationship, trapped on a boat/train/plane, stranded, etc. It could also be any book that just takes place in one day/location and they're stuck together for the duration of the book. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/5...
https://www.reddit.com/r/booksuggesti...
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-b...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
I don't have a listopia, but a few I can think of off the top of my head are An Unwanted Guest, And Then There Were None, The Escape Room and One by One. I'm sure there are tons of other locked door mysteries or thrillers.
Michael Crichton and Stephen King love the "trapped together" trope. It's also a very popular mystery trope. The Closed Circle page at TV Tropes has some ideas if you scroll down to Literature: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
Same with Locked in a Room: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
Non fiction about a fictional character or the reverse sounds interesting. I am not sure if there are any on my TBR though. Tropic of Capricorn is doable.
Own voices, not sure if I have one that fits perfectly. Not sure I want to check ifnit is own voices.
I really like the ATY link.
Trapped together, I may have a thriller with that premise.
Dislike lists in general.
Bestseller, like others been there, done that, do not want to do again.
Injury or illness, I have a few that deal with PTSD, medical stories, both non-fiction and fiction.
The 2020 one is more open then this years similar prompt. It is a possibility.
Yes I thought of Bel Canto too. The Guest List, In the Dark. The Institute by Stephen King. Devolution by Max Brooks.
Also I know the one prompt says the longest, but I don’t know if it needs to be taken so literally. I think the spirit of the prompt is to finally read that book you’ve been considering for years. I’m sure we all have books that we purchased or added to our TBR a long time ago that we still haven’t read. For me it’s Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.
Thanks all! I’ll look into those books and lists!
Mod
Emily wrote: "I just finished Anxious People and it would work perfectly (and is just an awesome book -- best of the year contender for me lol). It's not a traditional mystery or romance, so if y..."I second Anxious People! Loved it!
You’ve all convinced me on Anxious People. I’ve added it to my TBR!
I added Anxious People to my TBR also and put it on hold at 2 libraries! It might be 2021 before I get it. Thanks everyone for the ideas for the Trapped Together suggestion! I’m going to give it some thought just because it’s different and I’m sure I could find something. I think that one of my all time favorite books, The Winshaw Legacy: or, What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe would work. But, it’s the kind of book that you wouldn’t know it fits until you read it, unless it’s on a list.
Steve wrote: "If anyone is looking to research the "bestseller in the year you were born" prompt, you can click on your year from here to get an idea of some of them (not an exhaustive list...just the ones that ..."Thanks for posting the link. 1945 was not a good year. None of the books are of interest. I haven't heard of most of the authors. This will be a down vote... too many books from other years I am excited about reading.
I'm going to do 8 upvotes. I had a few I really didn't like but I had more I loved. If the ones I don't like get in I'll make them work (i.e., if the birth year gets in I'll use one of my offspring's birth years, my year was dismal and outdated).
Haha Martha that great. It is a “birth year” for you!
Rachel wrote: "... and maybe (downvote) the fiction/non-fiction prompt because that feels like a combo of two very different ideas to me. "Fair point, Rachel, Just let me explain that I deliberately set it up this way to accommodate both fiction and non-fiction readers in a way that still felt connected/like two aspects of the same prompt if that makes any sense. (I would have suggested it in the multi-part poll if I'd thought of it back then.)
Katie wrote: "I suggested the illness/injury prompt, so I know I'm biased, but I don't think it warrants a seriously??? like it's the most heinous thing ever suggested. I'll admit that I didn't think about it in..."To be honest, I didn't even think of the whole 2020 disaster situation at all when I saw your prompt because I read so many thrillers and detective stories which all involve injuries (at the very least). I'm not as excited about it as I am about a few other prompts (because I feel a few others are a bit more original), but I will certainly not downvote it and will have various ways to make it work for me if it gets in :)
Steve wrote: "This romantic novel discussion reminds me of when I taught the Scarlet Letter to my AP class and lectured on the characteristics of Romantic literature (note the capital R) and then asked on the un..."That was to be expected, I guess :D It didn't even occur to me to look at the prompt that way, but then of course it said "classic romance" and not "romantic novel", capital R or not^^
Around the Year in 52 Books
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