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[2021] Poll 16 Voting
Suzanne wrote: "I had another thought on my suggestion of "story behind the story." (...)
Another example: read any of the original stories from Eight Perfect Murders."
I've never heard of that book before. Went to check it out on GoodReads and now I want to read it so badly!!!
Okay these are just my opinions. I will be voting up: female villain or criminal ( as I suggested it, it would be strange if not)
comfort reading ( great idea)
prompt that didn't win ( I think we all have one we love that did not win)
Theme of opposites (so much you can do with that)
A collection of short stories, essays or poetry ( i have some I would love to do)
Voting down:
book about books ( I have seen it a lot and I find it hard to fill)
Book about Scandium ( sorry but I can't face another debate about what is Scandinavia)
Readers also liked ( I just find it can get quite strange)
but all respect to the people to the people who came up with those prompts there not for me but other may love them. Thank you
I love the Tournament of Books and would be glad to see it as prompt though it would be an easy one for me since I try to read all the books for the March bracket competition. It's such fun though!
Also, if anyone is interested in seeing some TOB action before March, they are having their Super Rooster bracket on October 7th where they are pitting the winners from their first 16 years against each other.
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i really like the Scandium idea. I want to see at least one category on the list that is in some way connected to "21" First, there's the obvious choices:
read a book about the periodic table,
or set in Scandinavia,
or set during the late 1800s when Scandium was discovered.
Then the slightly more creative choices:
A book with a silvery cover (or with "silver" in the title or author's name) since Scandium is silvery.
A book set in a location where one of the three mines (as of 2003) were located: Russia, Ukraine, China
A book set in a location where one of the newer mines are located: Philippines, Nebraska.
A book set in Madagascar (where Scandium-rich minerals are found)
A book about baseball (Scandium is used in baseball bats)
A book about planes (Scandium is used in the aeronautics industry - Her Last Flight was fantastic!!)
A book about bicycling (Scandium is used in bicycles)
A book involving lacrosse (tbh, I can't think of ANY books about lacrosse!)
A book about guns, since Scandium is used by Smith & Wesson (Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America is on my TBR. Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America, which is true crime following several shootings in LA, was fantastic)
A book with a gun on the cover (similar to the "Clue" category:
)And then there are the very creative options, for those who really like to flex:
A book featuring a detective who carries Smith & Wesson (Harry Bosch, Jack Harrigan, Joe Friday - I got these from this article: http://www.paulsmithauthor.com/classi...)
A book about something that could be described as "rare earth" (since Scandium is a rare earth element) - Jemisin's The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky springs to mind.
I'm sure there are more possibilities. I'm not very good at getting creative with prompts.
Nadine wrote: "I'm not very good at getting creative with prompts."After that list, Nadine, I had to laugh at your last line.
Conny wrote: "I've never heard of that book before. Went to check it out on GoodReads and now I want to read it so badly!!!..."Be warned that it's not Swanson's best. It's just okay. And he totally spoils the endings for a few books, including The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The A.B.C. Murders, The Secret History & The Drowner.
Sara wrote: "Nadine wrote: "I'm not very good at getting creative with prompts."After that list, Nadine, I had to laugh at your last line."
LOL well I FEEL like I'm not being creative enough!!!
Karissa wrote: "Also, if anyone is interested in seeing some TOB action before March, they are having their Super Rooster bracket on October 7th where they are pitting the winners from their first 16 years against..."Cool thanks :)
Some more scandium ideas from a chemist: it’s the first transition metal on the periodic table, so a book about a transition. Also, it forms +3 ions by losing electrons, so a book where the number 3 is important, or a book with a character who gives something away or loses something.
Nadine wrote: "Be warned that it's not Swanson's best. It's just okay. And he totally spoils the endings for a few books, including The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The A.B.C. Murders, The Secret History & The Drowner."Thank you for this! I love all of Peter Swanson's books, but this is one I haven't read yet. I'll have to go read the Agatha Christie Books first if it spoils them!
Avery wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Be warned that it's not Swanson's best. It's just okay. And he totally spoils the endings for a few books, including The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The A.B.C. Murders, The Secret Histo..."I've been working my way through the eight stories prior to reading.
Wow, what a great list of prompts. I suspect I will be using all or almost of all of my votes to upvote. Can we get 6-7 winners???
Nadine wrote: "i really like the Scandium idea. I want to see at least one category on the list that is in some way connected to "21" "
Don't forget we have the letter "u" prompt too!
I may read a Flavia book for Scandium if it gets in, she loves chemistry.
There’s also the two-one syllables prompt available for voting. I love that one!
I'm continuing my Robin Hobb reading next year, she's perfect for the 2-1 syllable prompt.
@Chrissy, thx for those great interpretations.
Johanne wrote: "I'm continuing my Robin Hobb reading next year, she's perfect for the 2-1 syllable prompt."And for the author without A, T, or Y in their name!
Oh we have that? Great! I'm planning to read the Tawny Man trilogy, so two of those fit right in :)I haven't followed the votings too closely, because I had decided not to do the challenge next year, but I reconsidered. I believe the same thing happened last year at this time...
Angie wrote: "I would appreciate some recommendations for "A book with a list of characters or a family tree." It's one of those things I always notice and like when I'm reading. But now that I'm specifically lo..."Gideon the Ninth and We Ride Upon Sticks both have lists of characters. It will be fun to see the range of books that people share if this prompt makes the list!
Wow, I really love this group of suggestions. I'm definitely upvoting female villains (love them), and also the Scandium prompt- I love how many ways you can interpret "related to [x]" prompts. I'll also be upvoting the short stories, essays, and poetry prompt, even though I have some doubts that that one will make it. I always want to read more in those genres though, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed. I really like the comfort reading and everyday hero prompts too! A book about books gets a downvote, because I tend to find those kinds of books really navel-gazey and self-absorbed in the least interested manner. I think I'll downvote the list of characters/family tree prompt because I dislike prompts that include elements of the way the book is structured. I downvoted the chapters titled with something other than numbers prompt from a few weeks ago for the same reason.
Ok ok Nadine’s creativity just changed Scandium from a downvote to an upvote for me. I couldn’t think of anything with a baseball bat or bicycles and got stressed.
I think I voted 8 up votes this time. I had originally decided to go 7/1, but changed my mind and I'm unsure if I took off the down vote. Is it possible to check my vote to ensure I didn't cast 9 votes?
Martha wrote: "I think I voted 8 up votes this time. I had originally decided to go 7/1, but changed my mind and I'm unsure if I took off the down vote. Is it possible to check my vote to ensure I didn't cast 9 v..."I believe that is why they ask you to identify yourself. So that they can do that
At first glance I like...- A book related to the 21st chemical element Scandium
I enjoy hunting out books with random connections to prompts and this one sounds interesting. If all else fails and I get desperate a book set in Scandanavia or an author with S.C. initials shouldn't be too hard to find.
- A book by or about an everyday hero
- A book that fits a prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
I've seen so many good prompts come up this year that haven't made the cut so I'd love to see this get in.
I'll give it a bit more thought before voting though.
I plan to use 8 up votes this time. Nothing I dislike! My favorites are:- A book with a theme of opposites
No ideas right now but I like some prompts where I randomly come across a book that fits. This feels like one of those prompts.
- A collection of short stories, essays, or poetry
I would like to try some essay collections next year for a change. I'm reading a short story collection The Tsar of Love and Techno now that is really interesting and makes me want to search out more collections!
- 21st chemical element Scandium
I had planned on reading Primo Levi's The Periodic Table last year for our Periodic Table prompt. I still haven't read it! Also, there are lots of 1870 classics I still have on my TBR.
- Prompt suggestion that didn't make the final list
Yes, this is a freebie if you read any book and then find a prompt it fits. But, if you pick a prompt that you loved, then it's like getting to choose a personal prompt.
- Comfort reading
Something light and funny like Terry Pratchett or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or a mid-grade book.
- Female villain or criminal
My brain immediately went to 101 Dalmations! Then to Vanity Fair and then everything in between. After watching Killing Eve, I've thought about reading the series it's based on, Codename Villanelle. I also might reread a favorite children's classic The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
I can't wait to see the results!
Martha wrote: "I think I voted 8 up votes this time. I had originally decided to go 7/1, but changed my mind and I'm unsure if I took off the down vote. Is it possible to check my vote to ensure I didn't cast 9 v..."I just checked your vote Martha and it’s showing 8 upvotes and no downvotes so all fine. :-)
Bryony wrote: "Martha wrote: "I think I voted 8 up votes this time. I had originally decided to go 7/1, but changed my mind and I'm unsure if I took off the down vote. Is it possible to check my vote to ensure I ..."Thank you, Bryony!
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Yeah, it's a freebie but I love getting creative with it and finding a n obscure link.
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As an old field hockey player, I have been looking for an excuse to read that!
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Funny that I don’t see ‘prompt that didn’t make it’ as a freebie. I opted to do a rejects challenge this year as well as the proper challenge and picked 30 of my favourite prompts that didn’t make it. Turns out I can have a hard time finding books for prompts I like the sound of. I’ve had to read more books specifically for that challenge. With the challenge proper there were a lot more categories where I just read a book I wanted and could simply slot it in. I’ve nearly finished both but the rejects challenge has more gaps.
Serendipity, I agree. I've been doing reject challenges for the last few years, using the prompts I vote for that don't get in. I find that I have voted for some that are really narrow or at least less easy to fill than the prompts in the main challenge tend to be. It's interesting.
I decided to vote for:- comfort read (there aren't many books I read for comfort but I would like to go back and revisit an old favourite)
- scandium (fun prompt with a lot of ways to interpret)
- female villain (will encourage me to read some more thrillers)
- first 20 books on tbr (mine have all been there since 2013.. about time I read one of them!)
- tournament of books (fun concept with lots of books I want to read)
- everyday hero (I would really like to read some more medical memoirs next year, plus it is a nice way to recognize the importance of essential workers)
I was quite torn on my downvotes. In the end I decided on 'readers also enjoyed' as I don't find this feature very useful and the story behind the story because I don't have many options for it. I considered downvoting the book about books as I don't usually like them but figured I have a couple of low-priority books that I could use for it I have to.
Pam wrote: "I plan to use 8 up votes this time. Nothing I dislike! My favorites are:- A book with a theme of opposites
No ideas right now but I like some prompts where I randomly come across a book that fits..."
I really hope the essays, short stories, etc gets through. There is such variety in the essays one can read... humorous, thought provoking, biographical, insightful. There are at least 6 great collections of essays I have read in the past few years which I will make sure are on the listopia. Another plus to essays and short stories, for the time challenged, is that you can consume a whole essay or story in the random chunks of time you have between work and life.
Edie wrote: "...I really hope the essays, short stories, etc gets through. There is such variety in the essays one can read... humorous, thought provoking, biographical, insightful.."Me too, Edie! I like being able to read one story or essay in a sitting. It feels satisfying, especially when I'm not able to focus on a longer book.
I did decide to down vote one prompt - the Tournament of Books. I just don't want any more lists.
Ok, so I ended up doing 7 upvotes and 1 downvote:- a book about books (I always love a good book about a library)
- a book from a suggestion that didn't make the list (this was a bit of a freebie for me this year, since I was part of voting. But next year, I'll pick the prompt ahead of time. Also, my rejects challenge this year was also more challenging than I thought
- a collection of short stories/essays/poetry (just generally love this category
- book related to Scandium (I was nervous it was just metal and chemistry. Both of which I have nothing about, but this discussion swayed me to new ideas)
- Readers Enjoyed (maybe it's just me but my list that came up was actually pretty on point with a good amount of other 4 and 5 star reviews. I actually didn't know about this feature before)
- female villain (slightly nervous about being spoiled by this, but I'm still really excited)
- 2-1 syllables
My only downvote was character list/family tree (Half my books each year are audiobooks, and those don't read these sections of books. Also, I know I can go on amazon and preview each book, but that seems like a tedious exercise for little exciting value)
I had 8 upvotes this time, which I don't think I've ever done before. I went with:* Comfort reading (I might do a reread of Tolkien next year, and this would be a good place to put some of it)
* Theme of opposites (This should be fun to research but even without research, the prompt screams Holmes and Watson to me.)
* Prompt that didn't make the final list (I plan to pick one prompt that didn't get in and make that the new prompt for this category. There are so many prompts I like that didn't make it.)
* Short stories/essays/poetry (A friend of mind released his first book of short stories last year, and I still haven't read it. If I get to it this year, it would be easy to find something else.)
* Female villain or criminal (I love this idea.)
* A book that tells the story behind the story (This might be my favorite category this time around. I have so many books that will fit.)
* First 20 on my TBR (I need a nudge to get to those books!)
* The syllable prompt (While looking through my TBR, I realized this might be a good prompt for books that don't fit elsewhere.)
annie wrote: "Angie wrote: "I would appreciate some recommendations for "A book with a list of characters or a family tree." "i only know of The Candle and the Flame + Empress of a Thousa..."</i>
My copy of [book:A Study in Charlotte doesn't seem to have one. Do you know if it's in the front or the back of the book?
I’m having a hard time with this poll since not a lot elicits strong feelings either way. I’ll vote for Tournament of Books and probably for favourite prompt that didn’t make it. I’ll downvote the Goodread Readers Suggest prompt since I never have any luck finding books I want to read with it. Other than that I’m still researching and trying to think if I want to vote for anything else one way or the other.
Rachel wrote: "My copy of A Study in Charlotte doesn't seem to have one. Do you know if it's in the front or the back of the book?"
my copy of it & my copy of The Last of August have a two-page family tree spread in the front of the book :)
my copy of it & my copy of The Last of August have a two-page family tree spread in the front of the book :)
In the end I upvoted a book about books, opposites, female villain, collection, everyday hero and scandium.As someone else mentioned everyday hero is good place to slot a medical memoir but still giving others a chance to read something unrelated to medicine. I think the scandium one is unique and has plenty of options beyond setting.
I downvoted ToB, if it gets in I'll hope something on next year's tourney will appeal. Also downvoted the TBR one, because there's probably a reason I haven't yet read books I bought 10 years ago...but I hold onto them just in case. I think if my TBR wasn't a record of books I have, I'd feel better about just deleting the oldest to get to something I want to read.
I seem to be in the minority here, but I really like the Readers Also Enjoyed feature in Goodreads. I use that all the time. I just think the rest of the prompt is too specific for me, 5 star read in the past 3 years. If it said "A book recommended via the Readers Also Enjoyed feature of a book you enjoyed" I would definitely be voting for it.I also loved the two book prompts this year about books that were related to binary opposites. I had so much fun picking my books. I just don't know how I would incorporate the opposites into a single book. Good vs evil seems like an obvious choice, but not one that I would be very excited about.
I was originally going to down vote the family tree/list of characters prompt because I almost exclusively listen to audiobooks, but you guys have given such great examples of books, now I'm going to vote for it, and I'm hoping that it wins, so that I have a listopia to refer to with all of your great suggestions.
I'm thinking that "story behind the story" would work for a book based on a true story or event (like Salvage the Bones, Hurricane Katrina) or a book about a real person (The Paris Wife, Ernest Hemingway). I guess it's not technically "behind" the story but it is an expansion of the story or a different perspective of the story. I think this is how I would interpret the prompt if it makes the list.
dalex wrote: "I'm thinking that "story behind the story" would work for a book based on a true story or event (like Salvage the Bones, Hurricane Katrina) or a book about a real person ([book:The ..."This is the kind of thing I was thinking when I proposed it.
Suzanne wrote: "This is the kind of thing I was thinking when I proposed it."O, perfect! I guess I was getting hung up on that "behind" word and thinking "behind the scenes," like revealing the private story behind the public one, and couldn't quite figure out how that would work for fiction. I guess all my puzzling led me to what you actually meant!
WRT the opposites prompt, another pair (besides good vs evil) is old vs young like the grandmother and young girl in The Summer Book by Tove Jansson or A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. Rich vs poor is another idea. There is also the antonym in the title option. GR has a list with over 300 titles!
Around the Year in 52 Books
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Sorry about that :D I know some consider it a freebie, but don't we all have that one prompt that we are super excited about and cross all available fingers and toes for to get in ... and then it ends up in the bottom votes?
I also like to check the rejects list against my TBR and then pick the most obscure-sounding prompt that just happens to fit a TBR book^^ That way it doesn't feel like a freebie at all but like a way to make an exceptionally difficult prompt work ;)