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[2022] Wild Discussion
No, not easy going at all. I’m an over thinker, very analytical, don’t do anything on the spur of the moment, going with the flow sounds stressful. I’m friendly, but don’t enjoy meeting new people at all. That said, I do like adventures, but ones I’ve been planning for months lol. I’m more like my moon sign, Virgo.
NancyJ wrote: "Irene, I wouldn't like the literal approach for my sign either - I'm a cancer. It's sometime called moon-child, and I find moons very appealing. (Last week for favorite weather, I immediately thoug..."I quite like the idea of "set on or near a body of water". I love setting prompts (though I know not everyone does), but I feel like that one's quite flexible, so it may be more broadly appealing: adventure stories like Robinson Crusoe or 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, nautical fiction like Master and Commander, beachy romance novels, classics like The Odyssey or The Old Man and the Sea, etc. And then there are plenty of books set near bodies of water that aren't really about water, per se - I recently read Virgil Wander which was set in a town in Minnesota on the shore of Lake Superior and although the lake was significant to the story, it wasn't a book about lakes or sailing or anything like that.
Hannah wrote: "NancyJ wrote ... Water prompts" Thanks Hannah, I'm glad to hear it. I have others I like too, but this one really resonates with me, and it's easier to describe than my other ideas.
I have Virgil wander on my to read list too. Have you read anything by Williams Kent Krueger? He has a mystery series set in norther MN, and This Tender Land starts in northern Minnesota with a group of kids who escape a violent school, and head down a river toward the Mississippi . I read another book this year about someone walking the Nile river, and my favorite book Migrationswas partly about an ocean voyage from Greenland to Antarctica. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is nonfiction, but it was so interesting I didn't have any difficulty sticking with it. My husband loved the Master and Commander series.
Does anyone else like it? Robin would it conflict with yours?
"Read a book set on or near a body of water." A body of water could be an ocean, lake, pond, river, canal, etc.
Alicia wrote: "No, not easy going at all. I’m an over thinker, very analytical, don’t do anything on the spur of the moment, going with the flow sounds stressful. I’m friendly, but don’t enjoy meeting new people ..."Well we know that astrology is not an exact science. But fans would say that it could be the moon in virgo, or other planets in earth signs. And the location of saturn is blamed for anything that hampers you in some way.
Mod
Thanks Hannah, I'm glad to hear it. I have others I like too, but this one really resonates with me, and it's easier to describe than my other ideas..."
A water prompt wouldn't be any conflict with my idea. I like the water idea!
Robin P wrote: "No, I didn't intend it to be limited to your sign. It could be any sign. The idea was for it to be like this year's NATO alphabet prompt, where there are many options and you only have to pick one...."I'm just wondering though how the zodiac sign prompt wouldn't be seen as one of those that every book fits into? Every author has a birthday, every book has a publication date, every book is set either near the water (water signs), on earth (Earth signs) or in space (astrology), etc. Obviously we can make it as difficult as we want but prompts that are seen as "freebies" struggle in the polls sometimes. Is there a way to make it just a bit more focused?
In 2019 we had "A book related to one of the 12 Zodiac Chinese Animals" but I don't know what the right term would be for the western zodiac, since they're not all animal symbols. I think that would stop it being a "pick any author because any author has a zodiac sign" prompt (though after doing the Popsugar prompt this year, it's hard to find out what exactly it is for most authors).I wouldn't vote for one based on my sign. Zodiac signs come up a lot in challenges and I've got limited things left to read for scorpio. Also because I don't care about astrology I would only stick to obvious connections to the main signs, so I probably wouldn't end up on the road down endless possibilities.
°~Amy~° wrote: "Robin P wrote: "No, I didn't intend it to be limited to your sign. It could be any sign. The idea was for it to be like this year's NATO alphabet prompt, where there are many options and you only h..."Good points Amy. Since people might be familiar with the popsugar or other old prompts, their minds might automatically go there, so the dates (author's birthdates, publication dates) need to be excluded or the wording should specifically point to something else. Like the content of the book, main character, or the title?
I feel like making it a character or title prompt makes it less appealing though. I think if Robin wants it to be like this year's NATO prompt, that's how it should be suggested for its first attempt. It can always be reworked if it doesn't get in first time.
I will not vote for any more title prompts, so I would suggest not making it that. I'm thinking of how we did deck of cards this year, if that could work for the zodiac. A character or theme found in a western zodiac symbol? Would that work?
I also like the body of water one.
Robin P wrote: "No, I didn't intend it to be limited to your sign. It could be any sign. The idea was for it to be like this year's NATO alphabet prompt, where there are many options and you only have to pick one...."In astrology, your sun sign is like your "main" sign, the one that everyone knows and what you look at for a horoscope, but everyone also has a moon sign and a rising sign as well. So if you worded it as "related to your zodiac sign" everyone would have 3 choices, which could then be interpreted literally or figuratively. I would also think if you're a Taurus, for example, a figurative interpretation would cover some of the classic Taurus traits -i.e. a character who is very stubborn; Aquarius is known to be a rebel, etc. I feel like there would be a lot more room for interpretation there than people might think at first glance, so it might need some explanation but I personally like it and would vote for it!
It seems all a bit too complicated for those of us not into astrology. I would still downvote a prompt related to my sign. I like the scavenger hunt aspect of looking for the animals or people. Like a book related to a zodiac sign would be a good place to read the book on the history of sheep I found. I don't need to know any more than Aries is a ram for that.
Mod
I agree with you. Some people actually might find the whole idea of astrology off-putting. My goal was to find something like the deck of cards or NATO prompt that had a lot of options. I appreciate everyone's input, and I think I will hold off on submitting this one now after all.
Was the sheep book Follow the Flock: How Sheep Shaped Human Civilization? I grew up on a sheep farm and have that on my Want to Read list.
Robin P wrote: "Was the sheep book Follow the Flock: How Sheep Shaped Human Civilization? I grew up on a sheep farm and have that on my Want to Read list..."Yes! Though it's called A Short History of the World According to Sheep here.
Ellie, this is unrelated, but I wanted to tell you that I just read I Still Dream for the past/present/future prompt and it was perfect. Thank you so much for the recommendation, I definitely wouldn't have heard of it otherwise!
Hannah wrote: "Ellie, this is unrelated, but I wanted to tell you that I just read I Still Dream for the past/present/future prompt and it was perfect. Thank you so much for the recommendation, I ..."He's such an underrated author, I'm so happy when someone reads one and loves it!
That sounds good, I have it on my tbr with the tag artificial intelligence. Most of the sci-fi books I like have that element. I just finished Klara and the Sun, which has artificial friends.
The Listopias for the poll 6 results are up, so I guess we'll hear an announcement soon. I added 100 books that I found in my searches last week for books set in 1900-1950. I have more to add, so when there's a second vote for a book, I can delete my vote to make room for more. So please vote and add your titles! I'll be back later.https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Mod
There are literally thousands of books that would fit in that time period, including those written then and many written since. They could be nonfiction as well as fiction.
I feel like mostly "easy" prompts have been voted on so far.
I agree re: easier prompts. If I don't go the Agatha route, there isn't too much work that needs to be done on my end to slot in books, which makes it slightly less enjoyable for my planning period. Because that's one of my favorite parts. However, I'm starting to investigate how I can put an Agatha Christie book in every category, and the one I'm struggling with the most is alternate worlds/realities/histories. Any ideas?
Alicia wrote: "I agree re: easier prompts. If I don't go the Agatha route, there isn't too much work that needs to be done on my end to slot in books, which makes it slightly less enjoyable for my planning period..."If you squint, maybe you could use Death Comes as the End.
Alicia wrote: "I agree re: easier prompts. If I don't go the Agatha route, there isn't too much work that needs to be done on my end to slot in books, which makes it slightly less enjoyable for my planning period..."Her play, The Mousetrap and Other Plays was loosely based on a real life situation. I think that would count as an alternate history.
Alicia wrote: "I agree re: easier prompts. If I don't go the Agatha route, there isn't too much work that needs to be done on my end to slot in books, which makes it slightly less enjoyable for my planning period..."Would some type of retelling of one of her books work?
Alicia wrote: "I agree re: easier prompts. If I don't go the Agatha route, there isn't too much work that needs to be done on my end to slot in books, which makes it slightly less enjoyable for my planning period..."It;s been a long long time since I have read either but perhaps The Mysterious Mr. Quin or something from The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural
Thoughts on the prompt: a book with a unique narrator? I am thinking mostly of a non-human POV like animals, aliens, faeries, etc. But it could also include something like We Ride Upon Sticks which is narrated in the first person plural. Or should it be as specific as saying a book with a non-human narrator/protagonist/POV?
Lindsey wrote: "Thoughts on the prompt: a book with a unique narrator? I am thinking mostly of a non-human POV like animals, aliens, faeries, etc. But it could also include something like We Ride Upon Sticks which..."I like it. I think non-human works better than "unique."
I just finished Klara and the Sun, which is narrated by an "artificial friend" - a robot that looks like a real girl. I recommend it.
It could also include The Art of Racing in the Rain, 15 dogs, Grief is the thing with feathers (I didn't read this one yet), and Hollow Kingdom. Call of the Wild had a dog protagonist but I don't think he narrated the story.
Do you want to allow non-human protagonists, even they don't narrate?
The non-human wouldn't apply (or maybe it does?) to We Ride Upon Sticks. Maybe you could refer to an unusual style of narration rather than narrator. I don't know how many other books would fit that category.
Alicia wrote: "I agree re: easier prompts. If I don't go the Agatha route, there isn't too much work that needs to be done on my end to slot in books, which makes it slightly less enjoyable for my planning period..."There are a few books such as The Mystery of Mrs. Christiethat look into her brief disappearance. As we don't entirely know what happened they could count as alternate history.
Having just finished The Hidden Palace, a non-human narrator/protagonist is one I've been pondering. I'd vote for it. I'd rather that over a unique narrator, which is unclear what that means.The Murderbot books would work for this prompt.
Does anyone have any other examples of a unique human narrator? I probably wouldn't vote for a non-human narrator.
NancyJ wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "Thoughts on the prompt: a book with a unique narrator? I am thinking mostly of a non-human POV like animals, aliens, faeries, etc. But it could also include something like We Ride U..."We Ride Upon Sticks does have some non-human objects/entities that have thoughts, so I guess it could apply. The first person plural narration was pretty unique (at least for my usual reading), so I was just trying to think of something similar and my first thought was a non-human narrator like in The Art of Racing in the Rain, Animal Farm, Klara and the Sun, etc. But I think maybe the phrasing should be be "a book with a non-human narrator or protagonist" so something like Call of the Wild or Metamorphosis would also work.
Beth wrote: "Does anyone have any other examples of a unique human narrator? I probably wouldn't vote for a non-human narrator."Here are a couple lists I found. Some of the books have animal narrators, but not all.
https://ew.com/books/books-with-unusu...
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/5...
Unusual is better than unique, I feel like a lot of examples have been done multiple times so aren't really unique any more.
I was just thinking that Judy Garland would have turned 100 in 2022. Maybe we could do a book related to the Wizard of Oz movie?
I love that! There are so many directions to go with it, depending how it's worded.You can read any of the books in the series, or a retelling like Wicked. Or, focus on some of the characters (witches, for example) or their traits/goals.
@Alicia, It sounds like Scorpio is a common sign!! October/November must be busy time of year for your family! And can I just say I relate so much to being an overthinker?? @NancyJ, I like the water setting prompt! I'd actually love if it were more specific (just "set on water") since reading a book set near a body of water would probably be too easy. There are still plenty of books where a lot of the action takes place on the water! Life of Pi is one I read this year.
@Robin, I like the idea of using astrology as a NATO/card deck character-style prompt, but agree that it might have to be workshopped a bit for those of us who don't know much about astrology. I had no idea people had more than 1 sign!
@Lindsey, I like the non-human narrator prompt! I definitely prefer that wording to a unique narrator.
@Amy, Love that idea! I highly, highly recommend Marvel's 2009 comic book adaptation of the series, beginning with Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The artwork is spectacularly gorgeous: dreamy, whimsical, vibrant, and perfect for all ages. I had some guests immediately order their own copies after flipping through mine.
Nancy wrote: "Non-human would include ghosts, like The Lovely Bones or Lincoln in the Bardo."Oh, yes, for sure!
It seems like the "non-human" language is more appealing, so I will go with that, assuming I can catch the thread in time. Thank you for the feedback, everyone. :)
I like the Judy Garland idea, maybe that’s also a way to brings a LBGTA prompt in this year via ‘Friends of Dorothy’?
Nancy wrote: "Having just finished The Hidden Palace, a non-human narrator/protagonist is one I've been pondering. I'd vote for it. I'd rather that over a unique narrator, which is unclear what t..."Did you like Hidden Palace? I loved Golem &Jinni
Murderbot is high on my list for 2022 (or 2021 if I get a sci-fi tag)
Irene wrote: "@Alicia, It sounds like Scorpio is a common sign!! October/November must be busy time of year for your family! And can I just say I relate so much to being an overthinker?? @NancyJ, I like the wa..."
Yes, I'd like to more challenging. I'd like it to include beaches and beach houses, but not 30 miles inland, or a whole coastal state.
Current: Read a book set on or near a body of water.
Read a book set on a body of water.
Read a book set in or on a body of water
Read a book set in, on, or near a body of water
Read a book set on or next to a body of water.
Other options?
I'd like to make it more challenging and adventurous, without requiring the characters live on a boat 24/7. Ocean/lake/river adventures, sailing, deep diving, ocean trips, Navy, whales, sharks, eco-systems, storms, fishing, swimming, surfing, as well as "beach reads." Non-fiction books about oceans, great lakes, fish, whales, water eco-systems, white water rafting, or shipwreck discoveries.
The Deep
This Tender Land
Migrations
Malibu Rising
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
NancyJ wrote: "Irene wrote: "Would you interpret "near" as on the beach, or in a coastal state (which could be 20 or hundreds of miles away from the water)...."I would pick a book where the body of water has a significant presence. I wouldn't use a book set in London for example, unless the Thames was mentioned a lot, like the character was a mudlarker or lived right on the river.
I am British though, so hundreds of miles is far away to me!
Lindsey wrote: "Beth wrote: "Does anyone have any other examples of a unique human narrator? I probably wouldn't vote for a non-human narrator."Here are a couple lists I found. Some of the books have animal narr..."
I love the EW "unusual narrator" list, and I would definitely include that link with the suggestion. (Watership Down, again! Wascally wabbit.) I want to read more of these (though I couldn't read Nutshell).
I wonder if "unusual narrator or narration style" would open it up to first-person plural, or other unusual narrative styles. Unreliable narrator (Agatha Christie used one) might be included as well. Or "unusual narrator or pov." Multiple perspectives, and alternating perspectives seem to be becoming more popular.
The 'unusual narrator' tag includes autistic people, a few children, and a fetus. Also death, dead people, objects, AI, supernatural characters (and some I have no idea about). There might be unreliable narrators too on the list.
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Related terms I saw: xenofiction -non-human narrator or pov, and anthropomorphic - animals/bugs with human characteristics. I read a few of these but I don't if they were 1st or 3rd person. If you wanted to include a lot of these, "Unusual narrator or pov" might broaden it to 3rd person stories.
I came across this website and was wondering if it could work for a prompt. https://www.queerlit.co.uk
Maybe, read a book discovered/featured on the website?
I really want an LGBTQIA prompt to make it on the list this year. Are there any other thoughts or ideas that might interest the wider group?
Kat wrote: "I came across this website and was wondering if it could work for a prompt. https://www.queerlit.co.uk
Maybe, read a book discovered/featured on the website?
I really want an LGBTQIA prompt to..."
I had a quick look at the site, spotted a bunch of books that are on my TBR, so I'd vote for it. They even have a form to tell them about a book to stock, so if there was a LGBT+ book you really wanted to read you might be able to convince them to stock it!
Kat wrote: "I came across this website and was wondering if it could work for a prompt. https://www.queerlit.co.uk
Maybe, read a book discovered/featured on the website?
I really want an LGBTQIA prompt to..."
This one was used in 2020:
#23. A book featuring an LGBTQIA+ character or by an LGBTQIA+ author
Some people don't like to redo prompts, but there are so many great new books. Maybe if you found another angle or new emerging topics? I read a book this year by Rivers Solomon who is nonbinary, and I'd like to read their/faer new book too.
Edit - The site breaks the books into genres, making it easy to find books in your favorite genres with LGBTQ+ characters, or interesting nonfiction topics. There are some retellings too - Once and Future, Song of Achilles. Malice, though they don't have The Chosen and the Beautiful.
I wouldn't worry too much about repeating similar prompts from previous years, there was a rural setting prompt that year too and that didn't stop people voting in small town/rural setting this week.
Not that it needs to be significant but I noticed that “A book with a non-human narrator” was a bottom vote in last year’s poll.
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I was actually thinking of suggesting "a book set on or near a body of water (or about a body of water)."
Alicia, are you the easy going one in the family? I live with two fairly easy going Sagitarians, which made Covid a lot easier to take.
The elements - air, water, fire, and earth, and the ruling planets offer more possibilities.
Aries – Mars
Taurus – Venus
Gemini – Mercury
Cancer – Moon
Leo – Sun
Virgo – Mercury
Libra – Venus
Scorpio – Pluto (Mars)
Sagittarius – Jupiter
Capricorn – Saturn
Aquarius – Uranus (Saturn)
Pisces – Neptune (Jupiter)
I found a lot of titles with planet names - they appeared to be mostly sci-fi, sci-fi-fantasy, thrillers, crime, romance, and non-fiction. The titles with astrological signs seemed to be mostly romance (with some actual astrology books). The element names can be found in a lot of titles.