Group Reads Categories 2021-2022

[SRC Moderator, Moderator]

It's time to starting thinking about some fun and interesting categories for our Group Reads!

The ideas gathered from this thread will be used to build a list from which categories will be randomly chosen.

Each season's Group Reads will have 2 fiction categories and 1 non-fiction category. The year's categories will be posted in advance so Group Reads nominators will have time to research and select appropriate books. For more information about the nominating process, please see task 20.10 in the Rewards of the Challenge. As always, polls will be set up each season to choose between the nominated books for that season's Group Reads.

Please include a short definition or description with your suggestion.

Choices from the past years we would prefer not to repeat:

FICTION:
Urban Fantasy
Police Procedural
Paranormal Romance
Retellings
Anthology
Comedy
Fantasy originally not written in English
The Book Was Better Than The Movie
Southern Literature
Love Triangles
Parallel Timelines
Cabin in the Woods

NON-FICTION:
Award Winners
Cryptology/Ciphers
Politics
Sports
Ancient Civilizations
Economics
Rebels With a Cause
Female Entrepreneurs
Health
Fashion
Biography/Memoir of Female Artist


Feel free to get creative and submit your ideas here! This thread will be open for ideas until March 31. We're looking forward to seeing what you come up with

[Simone]

Fiction:
Locked room mystery (to make it a bit more challenging: locked room mystery where the victim is not male)

Non-fiction:
Features cult/sect or religion that is not a major religion (list of major religions: Major World Religions

[Heather(Gibby)]

Frame Narrative (Story within a story)

[Kathy KS]

Fiction:
Amateur detectives
Space opera
Small towns (below 50,000; although my own definition would be under 30,000)

Nonfiction:
The Homefront (how do wars/conflicts affect the people at home; NOT on the military fronts. This could be The Blitz, survival, or "life as usual (?)", helping organizations/programs, etc.)
Family history/genealogy

[Meg]

Fiction :
Domestic
Unreliable narrator
Scandinavian
Historical fiction set in Asia
Young adult science fiction
Australian author

Non fiction :
Books about books
Climate change
Celebrity memoir
New release (past year)

[Dee]

non fiction
pop psychology
sports biographies/memoirs
natural disasters
economics
social justice

[Marie (UK)]

i would love something just a bit more light hearted I am sick of war we have had so many variations on the theme

What about non fiction. Music or dance
books with musical instrument in title - for fiction

the group reads have been the most depressing part of the challenge for years

Japanese / Asian fiction
Summer reading
your favourites

in this world that has become so depressing and inward looking lets give disasters, wars and dire prognostications a miss let's make 2021/2022 a year to bring out the cheerier side of life

[Julia]

non fiction:
Space/astronauts
Labor/unions/working-class history

fiction:
Main character is person of color (Black/Latinx/Asian, indigenous)
Set in Latin America
Knights (could be Arthurian legend or historical fiction set in Middle Ages)

[Chris]

Fiction
Continuations - There's become a whole niche of an author's work being continued on after his or her death. Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice continuations are almost a category in themselves but there's also Sophie Hannah's continuation of Hercule Poirot, David Lagercrantz's continuation of the Stieg Larsson books, I think several authors have worked on continuing the Spenser for Hire books, and Ben Schott now has two books continuing Wodehouse's Jeeves series.

[Sandy, Moderator Emeritus]

Chris wrote: "Fiction
Continuations - There's become a whole niche of an author's work being continued on after his or her death. Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice continuations are almost a category in th..."

not just Robert B. Parker's Spenser books - 2 of his other series have been continued by other authors as well.

[Zach]

Non-fiction:
Anti-racism
Young-adult
Disability
World leaders
Nature

Fiction:
Science fiction/Fantasy anthology
Classic science fiction
Written by Trans/Non-binary author
Written by Asian or Pacific Islander author
Animal POV/Anthropomorphic story

[Marie (UK)]

Chris wrote: "Fiction
Continuations - There's become a whole niche of an author's work being continued on after his or her death. Sherlock Holmes and Pride and Prejudice continuations are almost a category in th..."

i like this one

[TraceyL]

Fiction
Time Travel
Funny Books

Non-Fiction
History of Pop Culture
Food

[Dee]

Alternate History

we did award winners for non-fiction - but there are lots of fiction awards
- Nubula Awards
- Hugo Awards

Fiction featuring a disabled character (physical)
Fiction with a mental health theme

non-US set mystery

[Teri-K]

NonFiction-
They Took a Long Trip - nonfiction travel
True Life Adventure
Founding Mothers (national, group, movement leaders, etc.)
Non-American or Non-European History
Scientist or Inventor Biography
Memoir published 2000 or later
Nature/Natural History/Environment
About Animals (Could be about one specific animal or animals in general)

Fiction-
Golden Age mystery, pub 1913-1939
Female MC Scifi
Animals as MC
Written before 1900
Humorous Romance
Anthology
Humorous Scifi
Pun Title
Women with Swords
MCs over 50
Fiction set in S. Hemisphere
Classic Revisited (Modern version of Pride and Prejudice, Dracula, etc)
First in Long Series (Over 15 or 20 books in series)
Bad Girls - Lady Pirates, Thieves, etc.
Make Me Laugh, Please - humor mpg

I second wishing for more "happy" books. I struggle with depression and try to avoid "dark" books, as they impact me negatively. Especially in the older, free choices, they seem to be very heavy and serious. But I can't afford to buy a book just for the challenge and only have a tiny local library with not many options. Just my two cents worth. :)

[Marie (UK)]

Teri-K wrote: "NonFiction-
They Took a Long Trip - nonfiction travel
True Life Adventure
Founding Mothers (national, group, movement leaders, etc.)
Non-American or Non-European History
Scientist or Inventor Biogr..."

I agree about happy and book cost i have a fabulous library but US books are not well stocked in the UK. I love classics and applaud the use of a classic free book as an option BUT classics are not the best loved by everyone. it is very difficult because AMAZON UK and AMAZON US could have wildly differing price options. I do not think there is an easy fix and I do think the group has tried really hard to find one . BUT a happy cheap option in 2021 would be fab

[SRC Moderator, Moderator]

The next year of Group Reads categories have been chosen.

From the randomizer at random.org

Summer 2021

Fiction:
>Continuation Novel- fiction in the style of an established series, produced by a new author after the original author's death/retirement.
>Young adult science fiction

Nonfiction:
>Food

Fall 2021

Fiction:
>Bad Girls - Lady Pirates, Thieves, etc.
>Locked room mystery

Nonfiction:
>Disability

Winter 2021

Fiction:
>Knights (could be Arthurian legend or historical fiction set in Middle Ages)
>Pun Title

Nonfiction:
>Social Justice

Spring 2022

Fiction:
>Time Travel
>non-US set mystery

Nonfiction:
They Took a Long Trip - travel

[Marie (UK)]

i am quite liking these they at least seem a bit more upbeat than usual

[Dee]

Marie (UK) wrote: "i am quite liking these they at least seem a bit more upbeat than usual"
me too

the only one i'm worried about is the continuation one because if you haven't previously read the series then it could be hard to appreciate the continuation

[Teri-K]

There's a variety of topics here. Thanks, mods!