Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
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[2022] Poll 9 Voting
Irene wrote: "Haven't voted yet, but my likely downvotes: - Princess Bride movie
Lots of great suggestions on how to fill this prompt, but to me, they seem mostly related to the book and not specifically to th...
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Irene,
I think the confusion about up-lit is partly my fault because I included a third list that really doesn't fit the definition (but some people found those books uplifting anyway). I agree that the books you mentioned for up-lit aren't quite representative of the definition. The first two links are more useful. The best up-lit books don't pretend bad things/people don't exist, but they demonstrate unexpected ways that people can really make a big difference in someone's life. They don't have easy happy endings (like in romantic comedies), but they show realistic hope.
I just spent 8 hours in the emergency room with my mom, and all I want right now is to settle down with a book like this. I might cry a little about someone else's problems, but be awed by a little bit of goodness in the world.
Voted! I wound up going 6/2.My upvotes were:
* A book related to mythology
* A book shelved as Literary Fiction
* A book with a protagonist who is a military veteran
* A book from NPR's Book Concierge
* A book with a theme of food or drink
* A classic
Mod
- Princess Bride movie
Lots of great suggestions on how to fill this prompt, but to me, they seem mostly related to the book and not spec..."
So sorry to hear about your mom, Nancy, I hope things are going ok. Since my daughter started having health issues almost 2 years ago, I can't read about anything like that (she is doing quite well now). And last year during shutdown, I started reading The Murmur of Bees. I was unpleasantly surprised to find it started with the 1918 pandemic, the last thing I wanted to read about!
Nancy, sorry to hear about your mom. I’ll keep her in my thoughts!
Thanks everyone. It could have been a lot worse. We were so relieved when they finally let her go home.
I was thinking of reading Murmur of Bees soon. Did you like it despite the pandemic? I really liked Station Eleven, which I read before covid. I felt a little better prepared when covid hit.
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and MargotThis was a 5* read for me, it would work for Up Fiction and a Golden Years character
I also have Murmur of Bees on my TBR :)
Uplit isn't my usual thing either but I do have a few on my TBR. They are the kind of books I tend to buy on 99p ebook deals. I now know that they are not necessarily happy books, so I feel more prepared to read them in the right mood.
Thank you all for the clarification!! Really helpful, so I'll be prepared if these prompts are voted through.And oh no, Nancy, I'm so sorry about your mom!! I really hope she's okay. And that you feel better soon too. 8 hours in an emergency room sounds like a harrowing experience for both of you :(
Mod
It could have been a lot worse. We were so relieved when they finally let her go home.
I was thinking of reading Murmur of Bees soon. Did you like it despite the pandemic? I rea..."
Murmur of Bees is set in Mexico and has a magical realism element, which is interesting. What I mostly didn't like about it was the style, which I also found in Hamnet, of telling you first that something happened (usually a bad thing), then having you read all the details. Why couldn't the author just tell the story? I don't mind unusual methods of storytelling but this seemed unnecessary.
I read Station Eleven a couple years ago. I really liked it, as it is one of the few post-apocalyptic books that shows people working together, even making art, instead of fighting over the last scraps. I would like to think people are like that, and I would call it UpLit in spite of the subject matter. In that book, the plague happens super fast, like only days to wipe out over 90% of the world's population. (not a spoiler as this happens early in the book)
I'd be more inclined to classify Station Eleven as hopepunk.One subgenre that has emerged is hopepunk, which finds its narrative motivation in the idea of optimism—embodied in acts of love, kindness, and respect for one another—as resistance. ... But it's also hopepunk: people are fighting, people are building support systems, people are making change. Change IS possible.
Robin P wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Thanks everyone. It could have been a lot worse. We were so relieved when they finally let her go home.
I was thinking of reading Murmur of Bees soon. Did you like it despite the ..."
I wanted to agree wholeheartedly that despite being sad at certain points, Station Eleven is very uplifting in how it depicts people coming together. I actually read it last October during the pandemic and it was a pretty perfect read despite everything that was (and still is) going on in the world.
I am actually glad I read it then and would recommend it even for those who are put off by pandemic fiction right now.
I'm such a minority, I did not like Station Eleven. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't get what all the fuss was about. I've read similar stories done better.
Ended up voting 4 and 4. Upvotes for military veteran (thanks to all the suggestions), classic, and the Podcast and NPR lists since I often find gems among lists like these..
Voted! And I appreciate the discussion here, as it inspired me to change one of my votes. I up voted mythology, military veteran, Reading Women, and aging/golden years.I don't want to share my down votes because the reasons were just that they didn't click w me or I don't have much on TBR that would fit, so nothing to add to the discussion.
PS - I re-read Station Eleven when we went into lockdown because I also thought it was a pretty hopeful book, and I did actually find it comforting to re-read. Idk if I would call it Up Lit, but I would definitely recommend reading it!
I haven't read all the comments yet. My first impressions:My top choices are Literary Fiction and Military Veteran, and my bottom choices are Mythology and ?.
Literary fiction
Military veteran
Classic
Golden Years
Uplit
Forbidden - Gay teenager in an earlier time
Food or drink - fun
Healing - I could read about a military veteran
I want both literary fiction and classics. The classics I want to read are also considered literary fiction, so I might skip classic to vote for something else.
Mod
I feel like the distinction between up lit and hopepunk is one of general fiction vs. genre/sci fi, but the moods are the same or similar.
Mod
Ooh, that sounds like an excellent definition! I had never heard of hopepunk, but seems like the same idea as steampunk, some technology involved.
Alicia wrote: "Thanks for all the links everyone! I think veteran will be one of my upvotes now! I don't think I've read a lot in the past, minus Sherlock or current military."I'm upvoting it too. They are under appreciated.
Sorry, forgot to say hopepunk is a sci-fi subgenre!
I upvoted 7 and downvoted 1I saw that someone downvoted 8. Wouldn't that have the same result as upvoting the other 7?
Nadine wrote: "For those who like romance, a lot of historical romances set in Britain feature heroes who are veterans, of the Napoleonic war in particular (it's a popular period for historical romance).[author..."
Thank you Nadine. I hope veterans and/or healing win.
Forgot to post what I'd voted the other day, but to be honest, I'm not enthusiastic about this batch at all. I voted for forbidden, redemption, and NPR's Book Concierge.I downvoted food/drink and movie/TV adaptation because those are both prompts I've done so many times before, and I'd rather have something different. I downvoted The Princess Bride. I've never seen the movie or read the book. I do have a book that would fit for it if it gets through at least, but I'm not interested.
I also downvoted classic because I haven't been in the mood to read one in such a long time, and I'd rather have the choice to read one for any prompt instead of being forced. I downvoted the Read Women podcast because even after browsing many of the links, I didn't see a ton of books that I wanted to read and haven't already picked up.
Pearl wrote: "I upvoted 7 and downvoted 1I saw that someone downvoted 8. Wouldn't that have the same result as upvoting the other 7?"
I don't think it's the same. I'm pretty sure prompts that aren't voted on can't win since winning prompts and close calls go by high numbers of upvotes. And bottom prompts (which cannot be re-suggested in the future) go by high numbers of downvotes. If I downvoted 8 prompts, it would not give the other prompts an upvote and would therefore not contribute to their needed number of upvotes to be considered winning prompts. If no one voted on a prompt because they used their votes on downvoting others, I think it'd become a no designation prompt.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong and have misunderstood the entire voting process! xD
I always view voting as up votes get a +1, neutral a 0 and downvotes a -1.
I have downvoted 8 prompts three weeks in a row. I downvote for a few reasons. I really don’t like the prompt. I have done certain prompts every year for years & years. For example read a classic. Some prompts seem narrow to me. Some genres I read a lot of so I stay neutral on that prompt. For example magical realism, historical fiction. I don’t think about the logistics of 8 downvotes I vote that way because I have done those prompts before & I didn’t enjoy them. I also keep a look out to make sure we don’t get prompts that are very close to each other. For example location prompts or read multiple books related to … prompts.
Mod
There is a mathematical formula involved, but I don't understand the details yet myself. Maybe Emily or Jackie can explain a bit about it.
Sherri wrote: "I have downvoted 8 prompts three weeks in a row. I downvote for a few reasons. I really don’t like the prompt. I have done certain prompts every year for years & years. For example read a classic. ..."You must have confidence that better prompts are coming, otherwise, why keep checking in? If you don't mind sharing, what types of prompts would you upvote? (Or what did you like so far this year?)
Rachel wrote: "Forgot to post what I'd voted the other day, but to be honest, I'm not enthusiastic about this batch at all. I voted for forbidden, redemption, and NPR's Book Concierge.I downvoted food/drink and..."
After I vote, I usually find something interesting about a prompt I didn't vote for.
I came on this morning expecting to see the results. I guess I'm off a day. Does anyone else second guess their votes after they make them? After voting, I always seem to find something interesting about a prompt that I downvoted or ignored.
I'm still spotting covers that show the backs of people, and they are often books that I would like to read. If we need more cover prompts later on, I hope someone resubmits that one.
Nancy, I did second guess myself some the first year I joined. I voted before reading any discussion, I thought it was cheating to read how other people voted and I was suppose to vote just what I thought. I don’t second guess anymore. Most prompts get multiple chances so I can vote differently in different polls.
Nancy wrote If you don't mind sharing, what types of prompts would you upvote? The first poll I up voted a book with a language or nationality in the title. I had a book on my TBR queue that works. I up voted the multiple week prompt about continents because I can work a theme with the prompt. Also I have not enjoyed the multiple prompts in years so I was trying to pick a subject I was interested in. I don't up vote much because I can work with a lot of the prompts. I just prefer to weed out prompts I have seen a lot of or just don't want to put time & energy into. What is left are prompts I would be reading anyway.
Mod
Jackie created the spreadsheet we use with the formulas tabulated that tell us what is winning, but it basically looks at average net votes, average upvotes, average downvotes, and the standard deviation in net votes.
A prompt must have a higher than average number of upvotes, a lower than average number of downvotes, and a net vote number that satisfies the formula Jackie created lol. She's the math whiz on the team.
Emily wrote: "Irene and Jillian, you are exactly correct. A downvote is a -1 vote, an upvote is a +1 vote, and no vote is 0. Jackie created the spreadsheet we use with the formulas tabulated that tell us what ..."
Wow , I didn't realize the wining formula was so detailed... I'm impressed. I usually vote four up and four down. I used to get more invested in the voting, but I've found after four years, I can always find something to make it work. Even if sometimes they are duds for me. I'm looking at you, Warwick Prize. But I'm glad for the occasional push outside my comfort zone
I prefer to upvote prompts I like or can work with, and leave downvotes only for prompts I really don't want. I typically only use 1 or 2 downvotes because I'd rather save the upvotes for the ones I want, and if there are ones I'm neutral on I wouldn't want them to be in the bottom.
Emily wrote: "Irene and Jillian, you are exactly correct. A downvote is a -1 vote, an upvote is a +1 vote, and no vote is 0. Jackie created the spreadsheet we use with the formulas tabulated that tell us what ..."
That sounds logical. I always liked that you looked at the distributions closely enough to identify the polarizing prompts. (Which we haven't had in the last couple weeks.)
I'm curious, how many people typically vote per round?
Mod
Sherri wrote: "Nancy wrote If you don't mind sharing, what types of prompts would you upvote? The first poll I up voted a book with a language or nationality in the title. I had a book on my TBR queue that works...."That makes sense. I haven't done this type of challenge for very long, so there aren't many prompts that I would find boring, especially if I only have to read one book for each prompt. In my other group, I often read 5 or 6 books each month for the monthly tag (this month is cultural). So I'm here largely for the variety. I want to be pushed to try a lot of different things (or look at familiar topics in new ways). There are many prompts that I would want every single year, and there are some prompts that I think are just plain good for us (such as diversity, international and literary prompts). I really don't want to downvote the kinds of books that many others love or need to read.
I often use all my votes for upvotes. I don't think I've ever downvoted more than 3 prompts in a poll. If I can meet the requirements of a prompt I'm not crazy about, I don't downvote it. It's the books that really count to me, not the prompts.I do like some of the fun prompts where it's like a scavenger hunt to see which books on my TBR fit.
I also don't want to downvote books that other people want to read. I read all the discussions before I vote and go from there.
Mod
That shows how many people vote who aren't part of these discussions and explanations. Plus someone mentioned they deliberately ignored all the discussion before voting so as not to be overly influenced by other people's opinions. This explains why some suggestions that get overwhelming approval in Wild Discussion don't do as well as you expect in the overall voting. It doesn't mean people disagreed or disrespected your explanations, they just never read them.
My personal observation (based on a whole 2 years, which isn't much) is that if you want your prompt to be voted in, it has to be immediately obvious, really clear, and not culturally limited. (By that I mean that ideas related to specific TV shows, movies, performers, etc. tend not to make it, even though they may be brilliantly related to the year.)
Well Robin, participating in these discussions definitely improves your ability to make lots of free associations. People who don't participate just don't have the opportunity to exercise this skill. :DFor example, my husband has been using a glass with a picture of Bugs Bunny with a carrot saying "Eh What's Up Doc?" Before I would have just thought, "hmm - where did THAT glass come from?" Now when I see it I start thinking, that could make a good prompt... It could be a book about rabbits, or cartoons, or Warner Brothers (?), or carrots, or doctors, or eye doctors, or a book with a snarky character. Or a book with a rabbit, a carrot or something orange on the cover. Or a book about Mel Blanc, or a guy named Mel, or Loony tunes, or Loons, or a book about Minnesota. Which leads me to This Tender Land - which is a great book by the way.
Maybe it's a good prompt, or maybe it's just stupid. I can't judge.
Ever since the rabbit prompt, I've starting noticing rabbits and rabbit books popping up all over the internet, especially Watership Down and The Velveteen Rabbit. And even in my backyard. Are the rabbits stalking me? Participating in this process is making me a little nuts I think. (Cue husband saying "making you?")
Emily wrote: "Usually between 150-200 people"That's more than I thought, and enough to make standard deviations useful. If the formula is the same, I won't worry that upvoting 8 prompts will hurt my favorite one.
Mod
Yes, I love the free association part of this. That is also a test of intelligence and creativity, if you can come up with a lot of seemingly unrelated items out of one (so you are smart and creative!)
Robin P wrote: "Emily wrote: "Usually between 150-200 people"That shows how many people vote who aren't part of these discussions and explanations. Plus someone mentioned they deliberately ignored all the discus..."
Just jumping in to say, I imagine there are quite a few people(like me!) who read and take note of the discussions but don't comment on them. I read most of the discussions on the voting posts but I rarely comment any more. I don't always vote either now, just occasionally if there is something I really like or dislike
I've been doing this challenge since 2017 ( I did PopSugar the two years before I discovered this one) In those days I did the challenge because I wanted to broaden my reading so I wanted things that were out of my comfort zone and/or made me think creatively. I didn't want things that were basically a free read for me , so I took part in the discussion and the voting.
My reading has definitely been broadened ( thank you !) to the extent that I now have a large TBR of quite diverse books that I'd like to get round to reading very soon, but I can't fit them into a prompt!
Should I therefore suggest and argue for a prompt that I'd be able to fit one of the books I want to read into ? Why not just read it? Radical idea , I know!
I realise I am missing the point of the challenge for some people but I think we all come to this challenge for different reasons and we should perhaps consider this and not make assumptions about other group members based on their perceived engagement (or lack of) in the discussion.
I love this group and this challenge, but for me personally, it's only a challenge if I DONT choose any prompts myself.
I am pretty sure two of the outstanding prompts I have this year are ones I submitted... So I don't necessarily make life easier for myself when I suggest prompts. 🤣
Ellie wrote: "I am pretty sure two of the outstanding prompts I have this year are ones I submitted... So I don't necessarily make life easier for myself when I suggest prompts. 🤣"I have had that happen in past years too Ellie. More than once I have been staring at a prompt I suggested and asking myself "WHY did I do that to myself?". lol
Mod
That shows how many people vote who aren't part of these discussions and explanations. Plus someone mentioned they deliberately ignore..."
Thanks so much for chiming in, MissLemon! I apologize for making any assumptions about group members and appreciate your feedback. You are totally right that this challenge is just one part of our reading life and if we want to read something, we should read it!
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
This Tender Land (other topics)Station Eleven (other topics)
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (other topics)
The Murmur of Bees (other topics)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
H.E. Bates (other topics)Mary Balogh (other topics)
Robyn Carr (other topics)
Jack Carr (other topics)
Brad Thor (other topics)
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I feel pretty conflicted about this because once I understood what it meant and took a look at some of the lists...apparently I don't much like Up Lit! A lot of the books mentioned that I've read I really didn't like at all (though I did enjoy Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, except now that I'm thinking about it, even as I was reading it I remember thinking that that was surprising, since it wasn't my usual taste). On the other hand, there are several books I've seen on those lists that are on my TBR...but now I'm worried that I might not like them! But I probably won't drop them off without giving them a try, so it actually might end up getting my vote.