Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2021] Poll 18 Voting
Notes and ideas from the suggestions thread1. A book featuring a theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles
This could be a non-fiction about the Suffrage Movement and women succeeding in gaining the right to vote, domestic thrillers like The Last Mrs. Parrish, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires about how men disregarded women's opinions in the south in the 90s, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban that shouldn't have even been able to get an education, let alone write a book.
2. book with a fat-positive perspective.
This was suggested last poll, and I've found some extra listopias that may have some different ideas on them:
Fat-Friendly Fiction For Curvy Women: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
#Fat: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Plus-Size Positivity: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
New Adult and Young Adult Books Starring a Plus-Size Heroine: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Fat-Positive Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Fat Acceptance and Fat Activism: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Body Positive Badass Books to Change Your World: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
3. A book set in a time or place that you don't know much about
This could be a country or a certain place within the country you're not familiar with, or an era you don't know much about. Closely related to it would be the idea of a culture different from your own that you are not familiar with
4. A book that first appeared in episodic format
This includes lots of classics such as Dickens and Middlemarch but also modern books such as Bridget Jones's Diary and Tales of the City or, more recently still, Roddy Doyle’s Charlie Savage or Raymond Briggs’ Notes From the Sofa. There’s plenty of non-fiction too.
There must be lots of lists out there. Here are 30+ novels with a bit of history: https://booksonthewall.com/blog/seria...
6. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year.
Examples:
A book set at school (fall)
A horror book (Halloween)
A book about a wedding (spring, wedding season)
A page-turning thriller or lighthearted romance (summer beach reads)
7. book related to the 2020 or 2021 Pantone Color of the Year
2020: Classic Blue
2020 Classic Blue: Blue on the cover/title, a classic, a book which deals with depression, the ocean..
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2... (Blue on the cover)
https://www.goodreads.com/genres/clas... (Classics)
9. A book for which you are (or were) not the intended demographic/audience
Examples:
- A book published before you were born (or before you were of an appropriate age, such as adult books published when you were a child)
- A book published originally in another language or country
- Reading middle grade if you are an adult, YA if you're past your 20s, chick lit if you don’t identify as a “chick,” etc.
- Nonfiction books that are targeted at a specific audience you don't fit into, especially self-help/advice books (As a kid, I used to read a lot of horse care books despite never coming within a mile of one. Presumably the intended audience was horse-owners, not little kids!)
10. A book that elicits humor, comedy, or satire
People can read the blurb or find a book on a list that claims to be funny, or that they think will be funny/satire. But this wording doesn’t require you to read the book first. And you don’t have to agree with it’s funny factor if you think it flopped in the funny department. But it could also just work for any book you read and decided was funny after the fact. Satire thrown in to broaden the options.
11. A love story
I phrased this specifically as love story, not romance novel. Though of course romance novel could work, there are many types of love stories, like stories about familial love or the power of friendship, and love stories that fall outside of the genre. Here are a few lists:
https://www.bustle.com/articles/17927...
https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/12-...
https://www.flavorwire.com/477073/50-...
12. A book that is disturbing
Examples:
- horror [e.g., Stephen King)
- dystopia (e.g., Handmaid’s Tale, 1984)
- psychologically disturbing ( A clockwork’s orange)
- Serial killers, nonfiction(Helter Skelter) or fiction (You)
- holocaust (Sophie’s Choice)
- scary politicians or corruption in politics/dictatorships, fiction (Dead Zone) or nonfiction (Bob Woodward’s books, David Frum’s books)
- War
- Plagues
- Abuse
- Addiction
- Oppression/discrimination
- Slavery
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
14. A book that takes place in at least two decades.
Either a saga spanning that length of time or a book that cuts between two time periods.
15. A book related to the area you grew up in.
For example I grew up in a chester county outside of Philadelphia. The author of The Fox and The Hound lived there and the book was set there. Or I could read a book set in Philadelphia or about Philadelphia. For instance The Silver Linings Playbook was set in Philadelphia. Or I could read a book about a sports team in Philadelphia or maybe something about my state of Pennsylvania.
It could be something that reminds you of the place you grew up in. You could be as broad or as specific as you want to be with it.
The episodic prompt is perfect for comics, including web comics that have now been published in print:https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
I noticed when I bought Kelley Armstrong's Wolf's Bane last week that it said it was originally serialised, so maybe it's a sign I should vote for it.
I'm thrilled to see time travel as a potential prompt. I love a good time travel book. I hope people realize it doesn't have to be sci-fi; it's a plot device used in a lot of different genres. The Dream Daughter and The Time Traveler's Wife (general/women's fiction). Outlander and The Rose Garden (historical romance). Kindred and 11/22/63 (historical fiction). The Shining Girls and Lightning (mystery).I really like "A book you associate with a specific season or time of year" but it seems like that type of prompt usually comes up in voting but never makes the list. I also like "A book that takes place in at least two decades." I seem to read a lot of books that are set in dual timelines.
I'm disappointed to see so many repeat prompts this time, especially considering that I didn't like most of them the first (or second or third) time/s they came up.
"A book set in a time or place that you don't know much about" seems very similar to the prompt we already have about a place you've never been.
Even though I don't super love this list of options I think my only downvote will be the fat positive prompt. It's just not a book focus that I care about and I don't like any of the options I've seen on various lists.
Edited: Actually, I have two downvotes. I also have zero interest in the episodic prompt.
I love love love time travel books so that's a definite upvote for me. I was also planning on using 3 different time travel books for Past, Present, and Future though so I may change that plan if it does get through because my brain can only handle so much time travel.
I was originally very uninterested in a book that first appeared in episodic format, but my interest was piqued when I looked at the link that accompanied the suggestion. There are a few books on it that I already have on my TBR list, and just didn’t know they were released in that format, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden, and In Cold Blood. Then I can across this list on Wikipedia, and it has five pages of books that were released in serial form. I have to say, it has gone from a possible down-vote to a definite up-vote for me now. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.ph...
There are quite a few others that I like, including some of the resubmitted prompts, so I think this poll will be mostly or all up-votes for me. There are only two I’m tempted to down-vote, so I guess I’ll see if any of the discussion sways me one way or the other.
Thank you dalax and Nicole , you have both helped me with these two. I was thinking Sci-Fi and Dickens again.
Nicole wrote: "I was originally very uninterested in a book that first appeared in episodic format, but my interest was piqued when I looked at the link that accompanied the suggestion. There are a few books on i..."Thank you for finding the Wikipedia link Nicole. We've had a bit of a crisis here today so I wasn't able to follow up my suggestion very well and am likely to be offline for a little while to come.
Partly because it’s great list and partly because I want to get more selected I will only down vote one, fat positive. I didn’t vote for it in the last poll and I have not had a radical change of heart in the last few days. Will definitely vote for set in two decades ( which I suggested) and am interested in unsettling prompt ( could psychological thriller count for this?)
I'm currently obsessed with the Serial Reader app which gives you a chunk a day of a classic - about 10 mins of reading. I'm currently about half way through The Mill on the Floss. Like people have said, a lot of these types of books were originally published like this so a chapter a day works well!Obviously people don't need to read them serialised I suppose, but could be a nice idea for anyone who's intimidated by classics, they're very accessible in small doses I think.
Since there's no description/details for the Year of the Ox prompt, here are a few suggestions for that one!- Books from the point of view of animals, particularly farm animals since that would make it specific to the Year of the Ox, since every year is a year of some animal but they're not always farm/domesticated animals!
Examples: War Horse, Black Beauty, Charlotte’s Web, Animal Farm
-Books featuring farmers, pet owners, vets, horse jockeys, etc.
-Nonfiction about land, agriculture, the cattle/meat/food industry, etc.
Thomas wrote: "Partly because it’s great list and partly because I want to get more selected I will only down vote one, fat positive. I didn’t vote for it in the last poll and I have not had a radical change of h..."I would definitely count some psychological thrillers as disturbing. I think that some genres are more likely to be disturbing (e.g., horror), but not all books within a genre are necessarily so. For example, I would consider Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 as disturbing, but not Ready Player One, even though they are all books set in dystopian worlds. Many books set during war, such as books about concentration camp survivors would be disturbing, but perhaps not spy thrillers or cozy mysteries.
But as with all prompts, what matters is how you choose to define the prompts for yourself. If you find psychological thrillers disturbing, then they would definitely work for this prompt.
There are 4 that I'm wishy-washy about, so I'll definitely read through these comments and suggestions before voting.A book set in a time or place that you don't know much about - seems too similar to a place you've never been, and is also a bit similar to Popsugar's book about a subject you don't know much about. It's potentially too vague if I take it to mean a book set anywhere I haven't been since a lot of books are set in small towns.
A book that elicits humor, comedy, or satire - I don't really like or read humorous books (just a personal preference), and feel like it'd be way too broad if it's any book that has at least one scene I found amusing.
A book related to the 2020 or 2021 Pantone Color of the Year - we don't know the 2021 color yet, and I'd feel weird doing a 2021 prompt about the 2020 color of the year. Also, blue is a very, very common color so it doesn't feel exciting.
A book that first appeared in episodic format - I tend to like printing a list and then "shopping" through my own books first to decide what to read for a given prompt. I doubt I have many books originally published in this format, and I would also have to look up each specific book to see if it was! Otherwise, it's another list-type prompt.
As for the rest of the prompts, I really like a lot of them!! The ones I'll upvote for sure are:
- A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
- A book related to the Year of the Ox
- A book for which you are (or were) not the intended demographic/audience
- A love story
- A book that is disturbing
I think I'll be using mainly downvotes on this poll.The prompts I like are disturbing book, love story and not intended audience.
I have literally no books that fit time travel, area you grew up (unless we're talking a very expanded area) and fat positive so they will be downvotes. There are a few others I'm considering but will see how many options I have for each before deciding.
I'll have almost all upvotes this round. My top favorites are: - a book with a fat-positive perspective: I will most likely read Thick: And Other Essays or The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
- a book you associate with a specific season or time of year: I have books that I designate as "October books" each year - horror, paranormal, vampires, witches, etc. - so this prompt would be perfect for that.
- a book related to the Year of the Ox: I like the connection to 2021 and will most likely use the agriculture/bovine link, but I have some other notes I might play off of (2nd animal in Chinese Zodiac; agriculture, bovine; hardworking, active, popular among friends; honest; diligence, dependability, strength and determination; 2021 type = gold/metal ox).
- a book that elicits humor, comedy, or satire: I like satire books, and I own a some good options labeled as "satire" or "humor" on my TBR (Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Cold Comfort Farm, Galápagos, Scrappy Little Nobody, This Is Really Happening)
My other upvotes will be a book featuring a theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles, a book by an author whose career spans more than 21 years (I like the 2021 link plus I have some good book options), and a book for which I am not the intended demographic.
My only downvote is a time travel novel. I don't currently own any on my TBR and there are none on my radar that I want to read that I haven't already read.
Mod
I like women overcoming obstacles, because I read a fair amount of women’s history but I don’t expect that to get through either.
I wonder if episodic would include a book of essays that originally appeared in magazines?
At first I didn’t like the disturbing book but I do think it goes well with the cozy read. I don’t read horror or true crime- but I do like weird books in the mold of The Twilight Zone.
I know many won't like the women overcoming obstacles, but I forgot to add in my description that this can also be another way for those that were interested in the non-binary/trans prompt. Most books featuring trans-women would count, like If I Was Your Girl or An Unkindness of Ghosts
I’m all over the place with this round. Fat positive will be an upvote. Women overcoming probably will be as well. Places you don’t know much about would work well with my read around the world project. I wish the Panetone colour prompt wasn’t limited to just 2020 or 2021. That feels a bit limiting to me. Down votes will be year off the ox (just doesn’t appeal and I struggled last time I had to do a broader Chinese zodiac prompt) and area you grew up in (I grew up in the middle of nowhere and certainly have no interest in reading about it should there even be any books set there). As for the others I’m undecided. Further thought and research required.
I think for year of the ox we should count any book published in any year of the ox. That’s one out of every twelve years. 1901, 1913, 1925, etc up to 2009.
For the prompt related to the area that you grew up - it doesn't necessarily have to be about that area. If the area was known for a certain sport or activity you could read about that as well. Maybe something that you did as a child would be related. Or if you grew up in the middle of nowhere then maybe read a book that takes place also in the middle of nowhere that isn't your town. Just something that you can relate back to that area or even the broader area. If you used to go and visit a nearby city when you were younger you could read something about that city. Or if the majority of the people in your area vacationed at the beach or a lake you could read a book that was set in one of those areas.
I’d like some more information on the episodic prompt. I found this definition on google, but it sounds a little too similar to the ensemble cast prompt or the short story prompt? Maybe I don’t understand it fully. An episodic novel is a narrative composed of loosely connected incidents, each one more or less self-contained, often connected by a central character or characters. It is one way of constructing a plot.
I have way more than 8 that I want to up and down vote, so I think it may be hard to narrow down. I like the interpretation for year of the ox of a book published in a year of the ox. It would be a good way to read a new release. I was also thinking of a book with the letters O and X in the title.
Avery wrote: "I’d like some more information on the episodic prompt. I found this definition on google, but it sounds a little too similar to the ensemble cast prompt or the short story prompt? Maybe I don’t und..."I think by originally published in episodic form they meant like a book that was originally published bit by bit. So in the 19th century a lot of books were published periodically in magazines but are now available as full novels.
so my picks Up
14. A book that takes place in at least two decades
11. A love story
12. A book that is disturbing
9. A book for which you are (or were) not the intended demographic/audience
3. A book set in a time or place that you don't know much about
6. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
1. A book featuring a theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles
Down
2. A book with a fat-positive perspective
Nicole found a list of books that were published in episodic form Message 6 above
Ron wrote: "I think for year of the ox we should count any book published in any year of the ox. That’s one out of every twelve years. 1901, 1913, 1925, etc up to 2009."Katie wrote: "I was also thinking of a book with the letters O and X in the title."
Oh, I didn't think of these interpretations. These are great!
Ron and Katie, I love those ideas!!! They’re especially great for the people who may have downvoted it the first time because they felt that it was too limiting to read about animals/agriculture/etc. Love that the year and spelling of “O” and “X” open it up to any genre and format while still being very related to the year of the Ox specifically.
Joan wrote: "For the prompt related to the area that you grew up - it doesn't necessarily have to be about that area. If the area was known for a certain sport or activity you could read about that as well. May..."Thanks for this. I grew up in 2 small country towns in South Australia, in Australia. So there is not going to be anything about either of them....but this broadens it for me. I can read about other small country towns.
Also for Year of the Ox, here are some more ideas based on the Chinese Zodiac:- Ox represents the yang side of yin-yang. Yang stands for the heaven, men, light/sun/bright, odd numbers, mountains, and the color blue
- Characteristics of someone born in the year of the ox - honest, hard working, humble, kind, patient, logical, leaders, rule followers, stubborn, overcautious, less-talkative, conservative
- 2021 Ox Element is metal/gold
- Famous people born under the ox where you can read books about them or the time that they impacted: Margaret Thatcher, Barak Obama, Charles Lindburgh, Walt Disney, Hitler, Princess Diana, Bobby Kennedy, Jesse Owens, Malala Yousafzai, Anastasia Romanov, Malcolm X, Vivien Leigh (can read one of my favorites, Gone with the Wind) and many more.
Avery wrote: "I’d like some more information on the episodic prompt."These links might help:
https://booksonthewall.com/blog/seria...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seria...
Although I think this form of publishing was more common in the 19th century, there are plenty of other options for people who don’t like classics. For example:
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
A contemporary book that would work is The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling. This was published in instalments online earlier this year and will be published in book format next month.
Bec wrote: "Joan wrote: "For the prompt related to the area that you grew up - it doesn't necessarily have to be about that area. If the area was known for a certain sport or activity you could read about that..."Bec, Jane Harper's first novel is about a small town in Australia as well and I highly recommend it: The Dry. Then her most recent book is about a small but also isolated town if that happens to fit too: The Lost Man
I like the satire prompt. I really hate the town you grew up in. My town had maybe a 100 people in it. Since the other towns were that size around us we did warrant a dot on the map. Tourism was the main industry and that was for fisherman, hunters and campers. There is only so many times I am willing to stretch this prompt to the breaking point.
The rest of the prompts sound like something my English lit teacher would assign.
Most of them are doable, just not "Wow I really want to read something related to that."
Sorry to be a downer but really wanted a list for 2021 to be more exciting.
Anastasia wrote: "Sorry to be a downer but really wanted a list for 2021 to be more exciting."What you would consider an exciting prompt? I do a lot of challenges and these seem to track with what I usually see. I would love to know if there's a way of thinking about these I'm missing!
Joan wrote: "For the prompt related to the area that you grew up - it doesn't necessarily have to be about that area. If the area was known for a certain sport or activity you could read about that as well. May..."Thanks Joan. I really like the wording of this prompt as it makes it a lot more interesting than “a book set where you grew up” or “a book by an author from the place you grew up” which I’ve seen on reading challenges before.
Some ideas I have include:
- a history book about the city or region or country you grew up in
- a book related to something your area is known for - a sports team, a particular industry or type of produce, beautiful scenery...
- a book set in a location with similarities to the one you grew up in - if you grew up in a big city then a book set in another big city would work, or if you grew up in an isolated rural area then a book set in a small village or rural area.
- a book related to anything interesting that happened in your area -it doesn’t have to be a major newsworthy event, it could be something like a fair or other event held in your area, or even just something simple you remember from growing up, like people sledding during an unusually snowy winter, or a new swimming pool opening or an animal escaping from a farm or zoo.
I was just looking through some of our past prompts. We have had some really inventive ones.Related to one of the elements on the periodic table.
set in school or university
monster or monsterous character
Related to food
weird / intirguing title
A book with a neurodiverse character
A book related to Maximilian Hell, a Jesuit Priest astronomer
A book related to the 4 horsemen
A book with a body part in the title
A book from the POV of a villian/antagonist
A book that is connected to a word or phrase born the same year you were
a book with an unreliable narrator
A book from someone else's book shelf
These are all prompts we as a group have come up with. We yave just been a little less inventive this year, or maybe less willing to vote in the inventive ones.
A book with a one-word title
I actually think we have some very creative ones over the year just now it getting to the end and people are going for the simpler ideas. Anyway it's a democracy. Some people like weird prompts some people ( me included) like prompts that let them read what they want to read.
Mod
Looking at the full list of prompts so far I like how it's shaping up. I agree there aren't that many 'creative' type prompts but that isn't an issue for me personally as I usually find them the most difficult to fill. I often like the sound of an obscure prompt but then end up struggling to find a good fit from the books on my TBR.
I really like the book related to the area where you grew up prompt. I lived in 4 different states (and ones I don’t typically see in books) and 3 different US regions so I have lots to choose from! I like that the wording allows for creative/liberal interpretation. The only 2 prompts that are definite downvotes for me are the first 2. I’m leaning towards up votes for humor, 2 decades (which could include time travel), episodic (originally published as a serial), and author of 21 years. There are lots of SciFi books and classics (that I need a nudge to read) on the serial list.
Bec wrote: "Thanks for this. I grew up in 2 small country towns in South Australia, in Australia. So there is not going to be anything about either of them....but this broadens it for me. I can read about other small country towns."I can heartily recommend Garry Disher's Paul Hirschhausen series (the first is Bitter Wash Road) for books set in a (fictional) small country SA town.
I also think that we've had some really good creative prompts, but maybe people tend to vote for the broader ones that are easier to do? For example, I'm upvoting the "love story" prompt because probably 2/3 of the books I read feature a romantic story arc. And while I disliked the thriller/mystery prompt because it's the choice of 2 genres that I don't really read, other people loved it because it's accessible and easy. Some of my favorite prompts for next year's list that I think are creative and fun are:
- the NATO phonetic alphabet prompt
- My Favorite Things lyrics
- a book connected to ice
- book related to character found in deck of cards
- monochromatic cover
I'm actually leaning towards downvoting the book related to the area you grew up in because I'm from Los Angeles and have already read books set in LA for other challenges (like Popsugar's olympic city prompt). I suppose I could read a book set in any other big city, but it feels weird to read a book set in London, Paris, or New York for a prompt that's supposed to be related to my hometown. Almost like it's too big of a stretch?
@Avery - what you googled is episodic narrative, which is a literary form with fx short stories that has a common thread to weave them together. That is not what is meant with this prompt per the suggestors examples. Maybe it should be reworded?What was meant is a book that first appeared in episodes or instalments, like the episodes of a TV/streaming series. That happened and still happens a lot in magazines and newspapers. Today there are also text-stories or like the Ickabog mentioned. The last couple of years I've got a Christmas story in december in texts bit by bit during the month.
Bec wrote: "Thanks for this. I grew up in 2 small country towns in South Australia, in Australia. So there is not going to be anything about either of them....but this broadens it for me. I can read about other small country towns."
i'm from sa too! if that prompt gets through, i was thinking of reading a nonfiction about the somerton man mystery. you could read a true crime about one of our other famous serial killers if that's your thing. you could read something related to wine/wineries/set at a vineyard because we're most famous for our barossa valley region. we're the only australian colony not settled by convicts so you could read about our history. we also known for our national parks (maybe you could read a survival story) and kangaroo island (i know 'set on an island' is already a prompt). you could read a book about colonialism or British hsitory/set in britain/by a british author because we're part of the commonwealth. a lot of our small towns were established as mining towns so maybe something involving that industry or with a mineral on the cover/in the title/featured somehow. there are a few well-known south australian authors too, like hannah kent who wrote Burial Rites.
i'm from sa too! if that prompt gets through, i was thinking of reading a nonfiction about the somerton man mystery. you could read a true crime about one of our other famous serial killers if that's your thing. you could read something related to wine/wineries/set at a vineyard because we're most famous for our barossa valley region. we're the only australian colony not settled by convicts so you could read about our history. we also known for our national parks (maybe you could read a survival story) and kangaroo island (i know 'set on an island' is already a prompt). you could read a book about colonialism or British hsitory/set in britain/by a british author because we're part of the commonwealth. a lot of our small towns were established as mining towns so maybe something involving that industry or with a mineral on the cover/in the title/featured somehow. there are a few well-known south australian authors too, like hannah kent who wrote Burial Rites.
Because the list is created by democratic process it's always going to be hard to get the weird prompts in. I think this year especially, people have wanted to try and please everyone when coming up with prompts.However comparing this year and next year's lists the spread of prompt types seems quite similar to me. Maybe less cover prompts, but they always seem to divide opinion.
Maybe for the final poll we should throw in all our weird and wonderful ideas that we've held back!
Ellie wrote: "Because the list is created by democratic process it's always going to be hard to get the weird prompts in. I think this year especially, people have wanted to try and please everyone when coming u..."I love this idea of throwing our weirdest and most creative prompts at the last poll!! I'd love to have more exciting prompts that force us out of our comfort zone.
Irene wrote: "Ellie wrote: "Because the list is created by democratic process it's always going to be hard to get the weird prompts in. I think this year especially, people have wanted to try and please everyone..."Agree, Irene :)
I do feel that this year prompts have been re-worded and re-worded, until they have been pretty much diluted.
Alicia wrote: "Bec, Jane Harper's first novel is about a small town in Australia as well and I highly recommend it: The Dry. Then her most recent book is about a small but also isolated town if that happens to fit too: The Lost Man."Great thanks for the recommendation Alicia.
Sarah wrote: "I can heartily recommend Garry Disher's Paul Hirschhausen series (the first is Bitter Wash Road) for books set in a (fictional) small country SA town...."
Thanks for the recommendation Sarah.
annie wrote: "i'm from sa too! if that prompt gets through, i was thinking of reading a nonfiction about the somerton man mystery. you could read a true crime about one of our other famous serial killers if that's your thing. you could read something related to wine/wineries/set at a vineyard because we're most famous for our barossa valley region. we're the only australian colony not settled by convicts so you could read about our history. we also known for our national parks (maybe you could read a survival story) and kangaroo island (i know 'set on an island' is already a prompt)..."
Yay, another South Aussie....you have been very creative with your ideas - Love it. Thanks!
I read the Somerton Man mystery a few years ago as I live close by now (forgot about that one!).
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body (other topics)Thick: And Other Essays (other topics)
Thick: And Other Essays (other topics)
The Time Traveler's Wife (other topics)
1776 (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Chanel Cleeton (other topics)Charlaine Harris (other topics)
Georgette Heyer (other topics)
Garry Disher (other topics)
Agatha Christie (other topics)
More...
Voting will open on Monday 12 October and results will be posted on Friday 16 October.
How it works:
- When the voting opens, follow the link to the mini-poll that will be added at the end of this post
- You have a total of 8 votes this poll to spread across your favourite and least favourite prompts (you can also use less than 8 votes) - You can find examples of acceptable voting practices on the Introduction thread.
- The prompts with the more favorable votes (comparing top votes to bottom votes, and looking at the overall number of votes it received) will be added to the final list (between 2 and 5 depending on how the votes are spread)
We are asking people to include their Goodreads profile address when they vote. To find this, just go to your own profile and then copy the URL/web address. If for some reason you can't link to your Goodreads profile, please post your full Goodreads name with enough identifiable information that we'll be able to access your profile. We’ve introduced this for two reasons:
1. On a few occasions in each poll, people have used more than the allotted number of votes, either because they aren’t familiar with the rules or just by mistake. When this happens our only option is to disregard the vote as we can’t identify the voter to ask them to resubmit. By asking for your profile address we’ll be able to message you and ask you to vote again if you’ve accidentally used more than the allotted number of votes.
2. Unfortunately a very small number of people have voted more than once per poll and so we are asking for this information to prevent duplicate votes.
As a reminder: You have a total of 8 votes to use among your top and bottom votes. The mods have access to each individual vote, so we can see if you use more than 8 votes. If you use more than 8 votes in the poll, your vote will have to be deleted, so please make sure to follow the directions so your voice can be heard.
Possible Prompts:
1. A book featuring a theme of women overcoming systemic obstacles
2. A book with a fat-positive perspective
3. A book set in a time or place that you don't know much about
4. A book that first appeared in episodic format
5. A book by an author whose career spanned more than 21 years
6. A book you associate with a specific season or time of year
7. A book related to the 2020 or 2021 Pantone Color of the Year
8. A book related to the Year of the Ox
9. A book for which you are (or were) not the intended demographic/audience
10. A book that elicits humor, comedy, or satire
11. A love story
12. A book that is disturbing
13. A time travel novel
14. A book that takes place in at least two decades
15. A book related to the area you grew up in.
Feel free to discuss the prompts below, but please remember to be respectful to the other group members.
VOTE HERE