[2021] Poll 15 Voting

[Nadine in NY]

Martha wrote: "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..."



haha that's a clever twist, I might use that too if the category gets in!!!

[Angie]

Voted!

This time, I went 5/3--so a little different than I originally thought. There are several I would have liked to upvote, but I felt like I needed to use some downvotes to offset the categories I'm having a hard time with.

[Katie]

This discussion has officially changed my mind. I originally had characters trapped together marked as red on my spreadsheet, meaning it was a potential downvote, but now I'm going to vote for it. I like the angle someone posted about being trapped in a relationship too.

[Kristina]

I like this group of prompts overall. I still love "a book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads" so I hope this makes it through this time.

I also like the fiction involving a real person/non-fiction about fictitious person, a book that's a series of documents, a book with illustrations, and a book by an author of one of your best reads of 2020.

A book on a "must read" list with a cover I'm not attracted to, a book related to a word from a favorite recipe, and a bestseller from the year I was born would be the most challenging for me since I'm trying to read only from my owned TBR.

[Nancy]

I thought of a couple of other trapped together books - Nine Perfect Strangers, Under the Dome. My book club just read Conclave, a novel about electing a new pope, which fits too.

Sci-fi books where the characters are on a spaceship, like The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, also work. Books where the characters are marooned, or in a psychiatric hospital. So many options for this! I hope it makes it.

[Avery]

Hmm I ended up voting up 4, down 4, and ended up spontaneously switching one of my upvotes at the last minute. I decided to vote for the recipe prompt because I like the idea of finding random cooking words to relate my book to, rather than just food. I ended up throwing illustrations out of my top votes because I don't think it will need my upvote. It either will get through with a bunch of upvotes, or people will think it's too common, so it won't get through.

I'm sorry but I still had to downvote the Best Book of the Month prompt. I just don't get it since it's just a collection of random books people read and there's not any commonality in the thread other than someone read this book once.

[Ellie]

Isn't the commonality of the best books prompt the fact that they are all recommended by members of this group? I like the community spirit of it, we all read something someone else here loved.

[Bree]

Agreed, I feel like it says good things about a book if someone loved it enough to post in the best books thread! It’s not just random books people have read, it’s books people have loved, and I think that’s very cute

[Jillian]

I like the ATY Book of the Month because it is member created rather than random people I have no interactions with deciding what books are good. There are is a variety of books. The list contains several books I’d like to read. Also, it encourages group participation and makes a meaningful connection between discussion threads and members reading books.

[Beth]

I decided to go for mainly upvotes this round:
- people trapped together (lots of good options here and it feels like quite an original prompt)
- ATY best book of the month (so many books I want to read on this list and I like to have a prompt that is tied to the group somehow)
- written by an author who wrote one of your best reads in 2020 (I have read so many great new-to-me authors this year, I would love to read more of their work)
- set in 19th century (I seem to have suddenly developed an interest in reading a lot of books set in Victiorian England which is why I suggested it!)
- book with illustrations (I was torn between this and the series of documents one but decided to go for illustrations as it seems I have more of those on my TBR)

Fingers crossed at least one of them makes it!

[Rachel]

I went 4-4 in the end, but there were many others I'll be completely fine with if they get in.

I voted for:
- Trapped together (It's a trope I love)
- Epistolary (I want to read the Themis Files next year, but I also love this format generally)
- Injury/illness (jumped out at me right away, despite the pandemic)
- #ownvoices story about love (I read a lot of YA so I have tons of these already on my TBR)

I downvoted:
- fiction involving a real person/non-fiction about a fictitious person (I have some historical fiction that would work but less interested in this than other prompts)
- Classic romance (I'd probably go with the modern classic route if it got in, but still not the most excited for it)
- Cover I'm not attracted to (I don't really care about covers, unless they are especially disgusting or scary)
- Bestseller from the year I was born (I'm generally tired of prompts relating to the year I was born)

[Bana AZ]

The "must read" list is actually more versatile than at first glance. You can google a "must read" list in a genre that you KNOW has always been a hit for you. Like "Must read mysteries" or "Must read fantasy books". It can even be trimmed down to "Must read fantasies from the last 5 years" or something.

And the cover doesn't always match the story inside! Some ugly covers have amazing stories and beautiful instagrammable covers have just awful writing that probably tried to make up for it by having a good cover.

[Hannah]

Ana A wrote: "The "must read" list is actually more versatile than at first glance. You can google a "must read" list in a genre that you KNOW has always been a hit for you. Like "Must read mysteries" or "Must r..."

That's a really good point - I think you may have changed my mind on that one. I love science fiction, but so much of it has (in my opinion) ugly covers!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I think the ugly covers are to appeal to men, can’t have anything too pretty or even artistic, or it will be “girly”.

[Hannah]

You're probably right. And what a missed opportunity, because space and stars and planets can be the prettiest covers! I was just thinking about this because I read The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which has both a "classic ugly sci-fi" edition and a "dreamy spacy" edition (probably trying to appeal to all the bases!):

[Ellie]

Hannah wrote: "You're probably right. And what a missed opportunity, because space and stars and planets can be the prettiest covers! I was just thinking about this because I read The Long Way to a Small, Angry P..."

The pretty one is the UK cover. I sort of feel like in the US they went with the feel of her original cover because they didn't expect non sci-fi fans to be interested, but here they made an attempt to give it broader appeal (and it was on a lot of bookshop tables as a result).

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

I'm Grumpy Gertie this time with more downvotes. Which I regret as I really want us to have our 52 books!

Upvotes
1. A book of fiction involving a real person or a non-fiction about a fictitious person or persona
- I love books like these. I just finished The Water Dancer with appearances by Harriet Tubman.
2. A book posted in one of the ATY Best Book of the Month threads
- I thought there might be some good random choices. Or it will be a gimme week for reading something popular.
3. A book written by an author of one of your best reads of 2020
- I just started the new Yaa Gyasi book for this year's version of the prompt and am so excited. Homegoing has been my favorite book of recent years and I love a tie-in to let me read more by a good writer.

Down

1. An #ownvoices book featuring a story about love
- It just seems in the current world of publishing, it's too broad a topic.
2. A book that is mostly written as a series of documents (letters, emails, blogs, epistolary etc.)
- every book that has annoyed me recently falls in this category. They're also hard on audio or kindle which is how I do my reading (I missed a whole lot in Queenie because kindle could not reproduce text messages well)
3. A book with illustrations
- I was being grumpy
4. A bestseller from the year you were born
- I looked- nothing appealing
5. A book involving illness or injury
- While I'm sure I will end up reading multiple books that can fall in this category, I'm so done with illness that I won't search it out

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Pamela wrote: "I'm Grumpy Gertie this time with more downvotes. Which I regret as I really want us to have our 52 books!

Upvotes
1. A book of fiction involving a real person or a non-fiction about a fictitious p..."

Mine were really similar to yours, a couple of your downvotes I just didn't do one way or the other. But I definitely upvoted for the same 3.

[Joan]

I only had 3 upvotes this time. I had 5 downvotes. It will be interesting to see what the outcome is.

[Angie]

I guess I didn't say what I voted for when I posted,,,

* Fiction featuring real people/non-fiction featuring fictional characters (I love this sort of book when it's done well).
* Tropic of Cancer (I hadn't intended on voting for this, but I found some great books during my research.)
* Written as a series of documents (also love this kind of book... I've seen some great creative articulations of this form)
* Classic romance (I'm trying to push myself out of my comfort zone. I'll probably do a modern classic if it wins.)
* Trapped together (one of my favorite tropes)

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Robin P wrote: "Mine were really similar to yours, a couple of your downvotes I just didn't do one way or the other. But I definitely upvoted for the same 3."

I do want us to settle on a list so I can start planning (yes, I should be reading to finish this year first). My library hold on the Vanishing Half came through last week and I put it on delayed delivery to January cause it will fit so many prompts already picked and I don't have a place for it this year.

[Johanna]

Ugh, I have already read or am not at all interested in reading the best sellers from the year I was born. There are only so many times you can do this prompt. (Not sure if it was done here, or another reading challenge.)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE!

And with the results tomorrow, we will be presenting the winner's choice from the Read-a-Thon as well!

[Pamela, Arciform Mod]

Nancy wrote: "I thought of a couple of other trapped together books - Nine Perfect Strangers, Under the Dome. My book club just read Conclave, a novel about electin..."

I read Seven Days of Us a few years ago- quarantined for an illness? Would never happen!- and it brings rom com to quarantining with the family.