Play Book Tag discussion
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Time to Vote for the January Tag
Good grief! I have a feeling which way I will go, but I've got to think about it first.None make me happy.
I'm 100% werewolves even if it doesn't match any of the yearly challenges. :)
Ouch, I agree with you Booknblues, none of these are within my preferred genres, but at least one is more tolerable than the other two.
I got to tell you, this may be for the first time, I don’t think I’m voting!
Jen K wrote: "I'm 100% werewolves even if it doesn't match any of the yearly challenges. :)"Hahahaha!
I read the comments first...now I am afraid to look!!! here goes...
Oh geez Anita! What a way to end 2020-LOL, seriously, a stinker crop of choices to end a stinker year😂🤣
Interesting options. Now that poll tag is over, people might be more willing to vote for relatively narrow tags. Have we ever had Artificial Intelligence before? One of my top 10 this year involved AI - A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. I read her Wayfarers series for our sci-tag thanks to PBT member recommendations. A lot of sci-fi includes AI to some degree (e.g. running space ships), but they were the most "human" in this book. One AI raised a human child. Another AI was removed from a ship and loaded into a body, and she was guided (parented) by a human.
Mental health is an easy category, since it seems that a lot of contemporary fiction contains at least one character with a common (or uncommon) mental health issue. Not to mention all the self-help books. January is a favorite time for making changes, so the timing is good for this one.
If Werewolves wins, I'll need help finding something other than hard core horror or teenage romance.
NancyJ wrote: "Mental health is an easy category, since it seems that a lot of contemporary fiction contains at least one character with a common (or uncommon) mental health issue. Not to mention all the self-help books. January is a favorite time for making changes, so the timing is good for this one."I surprisingly have a lot of mental health books on my TBR! Not surprising because I am just SO mentally stable (read with sarcasm), but surprising because I don't read a ton of books in that genre.
Perhaps my subconscious is trying to tell me something!
That was easy for me - one of my other reading challenges for next year is spelling out a word or phrase for 2021 and I've chosen mental health, so everyone knows what I've gone for!
That may have come out harsher than I intended. Tone and nuance can be hard to read in type. I think I meant it more like I couldn’t figure out a preference. But then again I have not done research. I tend to stay away from mental health as a whole, but I remember the last time this topic came up there were plenty of choices. I think there are ways to do this topic without delving into trauma and schizophrenia and bipolar and Alzheimer’s and the like. There are all kinds of ways to think about this topic. I think I initially shied away. But you guys know me I would find something for anything. I think I mediately had the reaction of just let it happen. So I retract my statement. I am not yet clear about voting. Will likely achieve clarity.
I'll be good with either. First I though, urgh mental health, I can't stomach that at the time being. Then I realised I just started a book where the mc is an a psychiatric hospital, so apparently I do read that. AI will give me an excuse to read the Murderbot diaries All Systems Red) and werewolves will give me an excuse to read the next book in the Parasol Protectorate (I'm at Heartless)
NancyJ wrote: "Interesting options. Now that poll tag is over, people might be more willing to vote for relatively narrow tags. Have we ever had Artificial Intelligence before? One of my top 10 this year involv..."
Werewolves: Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger. First is Soulless. Such fun alternative Victorian England steam punk romps.
Johanne wrote: "I'll be good with either. First I though, urgh mental health, I can't stomach that at the time being. Then I realised I just started a book where the mc is an a psychiatric hospital, so apparently ..."Heh. I voted werewolves figuring it would be a good excuse to re-read The Parasol Protectorate!
Hebah wrote: "Johanne wrote: "I'll be good with either. First I though, urgh mental health, I can't stomach that at the time being. Then I realised I just started a book where the mc is an a psychiatric hospital..."Such a delightful, clever escapism, eh?
I almost never spend points, but I did in this vote. Definitely have one that is preferred over the other two for this girl who doesn't really like sci fi or fantasy. If werewolves wins, I'm going to by ol'standby- the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Strong agree on Murderbot for AI and Parasol Protectorate for werewolves! I'm at Blameless after getting so mad at the ending of #2. Plus continue Kate Daniels and start Mercy Thompson series.Paranormal/ Sci-fi fluff is about all my brain can handle at this point in 2020.
If Werewolves wins I could read the 2nd book of The Dresden FilesFool Moon
AI-I could finally read Cinder
And Mental Health I have one The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness
That's it, normally I have tons of book on my shelf, this time not so much
Jen K wrote: "Strong agree on Murderbot for AI and Parasol Protectorate for werewolves! I'm at Blameless after getting so mad at the ending of #2. Plus continue Kate Daniels and start Mercy Thomps..."I was screaming at that ending too! After that #3 is redeeming. Just, never read the blurb of the next book in this series - I made that mistake with the 2nd book.
Johanne wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Strong agree on Murderbot for AI and Parasol Protectorate for werewolves! I'm at Blameless after getting so mad at the ending of #2. Plus continue Kate Daniels and star..."It was such a frustrating ending! :) Trying hard to not read the blurbs before reading. I have the next one queued up for January no matter the tag.
I think AI is my least favourite (though I usually have something on my tbr, even if I think I won't, but this seems the least likely). I'm ok with either of the other two.
NancyJ wrote: "Interesting options. Now that poll tag is over, people might be more willing to vote for relatively narrow tags...."Good point! I usually prefer the narrow tags, but all of these three could count for that.
I am sometimes happy that there are certain types of books I don't plan to read. After all my TBR is in the hundreds already. But among those are werewolves/vampires/zombies. Zero interest. I do like fantasy and sci-fi with all kinds of creatures but these just seem so predictable to me. Mental health could probably be found in many books, it doesn't have to be a specific diagnosis. For instance, I just listened to The Flatshare, which is basically a romcom. But it does come up that the heroine's ex didn't treat her well, and she eventually goes to a counselor. In Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, which I also read recently, the author realizes how impacted he is due to his dysfunctional childhood.
My initial reaction was being totally appalled. Like shocked and appalled! Then I looked at the lists. And comments.I have TBR options for 2 of the 3:
AI - Murderbot Series which are the BOMB and I have #3 lined up, Donna Andrews has a cozy series featuring AI named Turing and it is great fun, and I think the Janet Edwards Earth Girl series might work too...I know I want to read more in that series.
Werewolves - I have Gail Carriger Soulless and Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse on the TBR. There are always the later Harry Potters.
Mental Health - ugh. If it wins, I swear I will go for 'to stupid to live'.
Meli wrote: "Werewolves, duh!"Was waiting on you to chime in Meli-:)
I just saw that The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is on the mental health list. I won't get it in time (#6 on the wait list), but if anyone else is looking-I had it this month, but only got 3 chapters and realized I had too much else to finish up before years end and there were people waiting....now I wait.
Well, I just added Soulless to the TBR in case werewolves wins! I didn't want to lose that gem of a recommendation in the shuffle.
Nicole R wrote: "Well, I just added Soulless to the TBR in case werewolves wins! I didn't want to lose that gem of a recommendation in the shuffle."Hope you like it :)
Wow. I only voted for one, because the other two were no, no, no, no. Especially werewolves--it's not a January thing, IMO. But I could take scifi. Didn't mental health or something similar come up recently?
Joanne wrote: "I just saw that The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is on the mental health list. I won't get it in time (#6 on the wait list), but if anyone else is looking-I had it this month, but ..."Thanks for the heads up. I didn't know that. I'm on the waitlists too, and it looks like I might get the e-audio in time.
Theresa wrote: "My initial reaction was being totally appalled. Like shocked and appalled! Then I looked at the lists. And comments.I have TBR options for 2 of the 3:
AI - Murderbot Series which are the BOMB a..."
For mental health, did you read Olive, Again yet? Or Lab Girl?
Karin wrote: "Especially werewolves--it's not a January thing, IMO."I laughed out loud at werewolves not being a "January thing"!
Just fine to not like werewolf books - just the idea that January in particular would be a bad month for them tickled my funny bone tonight!
NancyJ wrote: "Theresa wrote: "My initial reaction was being totally appalled. Like shocked and appalled! Then I looked at the lists. And comments.I have TBR options for 2 of the 3:
AI - Murderbot Series whic..."
I am reading Lab Girl now... need it to finish Popsugar 2020 Challenge. Olive, Again is sort of on the TBR - I loved Olive Kitteridge, but read it fairly recently and I want to wait awhile to read the sequel.
In truth if Mental Health wins, and I really don't want it too, I am sure there are some contemporary romances or thriller/suspense lurking in my TBR that fits. A Tana French for example will fit.
Turns out I do have a book that fits AI. I almost read it last month, but never got to it. That may work out for me!
Voted - I figured out that if mental health wins I can read Anxious People by Frederick Backman, and I wanted to read that really soon! I hav just one book for each of the others on my TBR. That was surprising. But I guess we will see!
AJ wrote: "None of them really bother me although I’m not the biggest fan of Werewolves... I’ll probably read Scarlet (from the Lunar Chronicles) whether it is AI or Werewolves"I love it when there is a book that fits two or more of the potential tags. Does the first book in that series have Werewolves too? I re-read several of the Sookie Stackhouse books for poll ballot this year, but I reached my limit. My tastes have changed a lot since those books first came out.
Amy wrote: "Voted - I figured out that if mental health wins I can read Anxious People by Frederick Backman, and I wanted to read that really soon! I hav just one book for each of the others on my TBR. That wa..."I was going to read the Backman book this month (since it fits the international tag), but I'd love to be able to save it for January. If Fly PBT wins, Sweden would be a great place to start my travels. It might also make a good buddy read.
I'm not surprised you found fewer of the other tags on your tbr. Literary and contemporary fiction is full of mental health issues. I don't mean mental illness or serious psychiatric disorders, but the kinds of things that most people (or families) deal with at some point in their lives. e.g. Coping with challenges, stress, depression, conflicts, worries about kids, quirky personalities, anxiety, the feeling that they don't fit in, etc. These are the things that make characters interesting and sympathetic. If I'm going to read about unemotional, stable, average (boring) characters, they need to have a great mystery to solve, a villain to vanquish, or a sexy supe to romance.
I voted. Not with great enthusiasm. I hope my choice is the one because if not, I have nothing, which is so, so rare.
I’d be okay with any of these topics, though werewolves is my least favorite. I favor vampires over were-creatures.I voted for artificial intelligence and I’d probably read something written by Isaac Asimov.
Thats a great way to put it Nancy! And if mental health wins, I would be delighted for a Buddy Read of Anxious People, and anyone else is welcome to join.
I also have Anxious People in the pile, but I won't use it for Fly pbt first location if that wins, since I can see Sweden from where I live ;)
Theresa wrote: "My initial reaction was being totally appalled. Like shocked and appalled! Then I looked at the lists. And comments.I have TBR options for 2 of the 3:
AI - Murderbot Series which are the BOMB a..."
I have heard great things about the Murderbot series, my friend loves these! The first couple of books in the series is short too, so good choice :)
Joanne wrote: "Meli wrote: "Werewolves, duh!"
Was waiting on you to chime in Meli-:)"
I almost didn't comment because I thought it would be too obvious, but needed my voice to be heard 😂
I do have some mental health related memoirs on my TBR I would love to read and I think I could find an AI read (see Murderbot series above).
I am still anxiously awaiting the 2021 challenge results 😱
Meli wrote: "I am still anxiously awaiting the 2021 challenge results 😱"They will be announced tonight sometime before I go to bed!!! WooHoo!
I really strongly hope that we don't get werewolves. If we do, literally the only think I've seen on the list that looks even mildly appealing is rereading a Harry Potter book.For mental-health: If it wins, I'll probably read Anxious People or another Matt Haig book (I'm on the hold list for The Midnight Library, if I can get it in time). I recently read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and that would definitely fit, and The Humans also fits the topic and will be in my top 10 of the year. Edit: Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed will also be in my top 10!
For artificial-intelligence: I could read a Becky Chambers book, Children of Time or find some non-fiction. I read the Scythe series for this Popsugar prompt this year and was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did (though the first book is definitely the best in the series).
Nicole R wrote: "Meli wrote: "I am still anxiously awaiting the 2021 challenge results 😱"They will be announced tonight sometime before I go to bed!!! WooHoo!"
Thanks for the update!
I will pass on reading for the tag is werewolf wins. AI or Mental Health is good with me. Not sure what I'll read with AI.
I just finished a book that would fit Mental Health. Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind
For the tag, I will go with An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Johanne wrote: "I also have Anxious People in the pile, but I won't use it for Fly pbt first location if that wins, since I can see Sweden from where I live ;)"Haha. You'll be going to New Zealand, right? Or maybe Chile?
Yes! NZ I think. Then perhaps Greenland and Chile. Lots of not very economic zigzag travelling. How did you guess? ;P
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Bone People (other topics)The Whale Rider (other topics)
Guardian of the Dead (other topics)
Guardian of the Dead (other topics)
Guardian of the Dead (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Tana French (other topics)Donna Andrews (other topics)
Janet Edwards (other topics)
Gail Carriger (other topics)
Charlaine Harris (other topics)
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