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[2022] Poll 11 Voting
I wish the holiday prompt didn't include "your favorite." I've noticed over time that people dislike prompts that require them to choose a favorite anything. A more general "a book related to a holiday" is probably more likely to get upvoted. Oh well, hopefully I'm proven wrong!
dalex wrote: "I wish the holiday prompt didn't include "your favorite." I've noticed over time that people dislike prompts that require them to choose a favorite anything. A more general "a book related to a hol..."Normally, I'm this person. I dislike "favorite" because I have an internal battle of which do I like more, and depending on my mood one may be my favorite at one point but then change.
However, when it comes to holidays, I have a clear easy favorite. Halloween! I will definitely be upvoting this prompt. I hope it gets in.
Edie wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Does anyone know of any novel/fiction about the Women's Suffrage Movement? I would love to read more about that, but I much prefer fiction to non-fiction."I highly recommend The W..."
The Women's March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession
I am one of those that doesn't really like the word favorite because I can't settle on just one favorite for most things and get in to weird arguments in my head. The last few votes I have felt I was more negative then positive but this one is going to be a lot of up votes.
I have 6 that I know I am voting on, that leaves 2 more.
A book involving an ancient artifact or structure - this is appealing, I think it might lead to some a fun search but be too difficult.
Read a book involving two of a kind - This sounds fun but can't really come up with books that I read or want to read that would fit.
A book related to your favorite holiday - I actually really like what is considered to be the holiday season at the end of the year.
A book with nomads - I have to say this is the one I want to vote for this but most of all but having a hard time pinning down what would work.
A book featuring a major life event - I like it but it seems like it might be too easy, I read a lot of mystery/thrillers and it seems like murdering someone even if you do it multiple time would be a major life event.
I know it sounds silly, but just even making it "a favourite" instead of "your favourite" would make it easier on my poor indecisive brain.
I was thinking of going for something about a circus for nomads.
My first instinct was 4 up, and I've added 2 more maybes since reading the discussion so far. I was iffy on bees, I literally finished The Beekeeper of Aleppo yesterday and I've read several other books about bees. I like them generally, and having the option of honeycomb or a bee on the cover does open it up. So that will likely be an up. No down as of right now, the ones I'm not going to vote for I'm just neutral on.I don't want both women prompts so I'm voting for the history one because I think there are more options and I just prefer that one. I feel like overcoming obstacles is a subset of changing history, for the most part.
I'd love to see some examples for first contact. The first thing I thought of is Project Hail Mary but I've already read that.
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LOL! Maybe next poll haha
Here are a few lists for Instruments. Lots of choices! Stringed Instruments (143): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Musical Instruments (70): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Musical Instruments in the Book Title (370): https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
I will definitely vote for the Tarot deck. I have 2 decks and that will be fun to find something related to a card. (Maybe randomly choose 1-3 cards and stick with them.) Like others have stated, I'm not fond of the "favorite" wording but I might vote for the favorite prompt that didn't make it. I can't honestly say I have a favorite but there are a few that I really like! I'm down voting both "women" prompts. I understand diversity in reading but I don't like limiting a character to a female. We already have one such prompt. There are some interesting prompts to consider. Thanks everyone for your ideas!
Nancy wrote: "I'd love to see some examples for first contact. The first thing I thought of is Project Hail Mary but I've already read that."First contact is a major theme is sci fi. Here's a ginormous list -
https://worldswithoutend.com/searchww...
Any recs from that ginormous list? I'm not a huge sci-fi fan but I do read some.I'd also love some non-sci-fi ideas as mentioned in the suggestion.
For non-sci-fi first contact... off the top of my head:* Books about the Spanish Conquest
* Books about British and French colonists in the New World
* Books about Europeans/Americans arriving in Japan
* Accounts of anthropologists connecting with a new culture (fiction or non-fiction)
If you stretch it a bit:
* Someone moves to a new place (new kid in school, new to the neighborhood)
I'm a work right now. Maybe I'll try to come up with specific books later.
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Nancy - My favorite first contact SF book is The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
Shannon wrote: "Does anyone know of any novel/fiction about the Women's Suffrage Movement? I would love to read more about that, but I much prefer fiction to non-fiction."Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole is a romance about a Black suffragist in New York.
I just finished Xenocide, the third installment in the Ender's Saga series by Orson Scott Card and it would definitely work for the "two of a kind" category. I won't say why 'cause it would be spoiler. 😊
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LOL! Maybe next poll haha"
There is an old gravestone in a cemetery near where I live, which because of the font the carver used says "he traded this Earthy life for a beer life in heaven" (the T's for better are above, it's weird). It's v popular!
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I love that interpretation and as much as I think "hmmm, maybe I will finally read [book:Contact, that is more likely the version I'll read as I don't like SF
dalex wrote: "I wish the holiday prompt didn't include "your favorite." I've noticed over time that people dislike prompts that require them to choose a favorite anything. A more general "a book related to a hol..."Honestly though haha these prompts trigger an obsessive side to my personality, I didn't even know I had... I think it's that I try and push myself not to 'cheat' prompts as a rule. I much prefer thinking about 'A' favourite.
Pam wrote: "The most recent Outlander book, coming out Nov 2021, is #9 in the series and titled Go Tell the Bees that I am Gone. I haven’t read any of the books but watched the TV series. It looks like it is 3..."It doesn't help me either. You really do need to read these books in order, and the TV shows don't really cover it. I'm on book 7 and honestly I've completely lost interest in the series. (The editing is getting worse, the books are too long, and there are too many rapes.)
One thing I like a lot about the first contact sci fi trope is that I think it's very accessible to people who might not consider themselves sci fi fans. First contact books are often more interested in exploring the idea of how different societies or cultures function or about what human beings do when they encounter something that seems different from them, rather than being about advanced technology or hard science. For example, a few I might recommend to sci fi newbies would be An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, which is a very contemporary feeling science fiction, about a recent college grad who finds a strange metal sculpture that turns out to be alien, or Stories of Your Life and Others, the titular story of which is what the movie Arrival was based off of: humans encountering an alien species and needing a linguistics professor to help them learn to communicate. Remnant Population is about an old woman who decides to remain behind on a planet being decolonized because she's just so tired of dealing with people and lives happily by herself until some aliens arrive. If you're the type who likes science fiction books that feel kind of inspiring and are about people coming together or books where the sci fi elements are for the sake of revealing things about human nature (like Station Eleven or The Calculating Stars or The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, though none of these are First Contact books, to be clear), this is a great subgenre for you to explore. A lot of First Contact books are pretty explicitly meant to be analogies for colonialism - like The Martian Chronicles or, one of my all time favorites, Hellspark. So if you're not into sci fi, reading a book explicitly about colonialism would be really keeping in the spirit, in my opinion - I was also thinking of Things Fall Apart as a good example of this.
Nancy wrote: "Any recs from that ginormous list? I'm not a huge sci-fi fan but I do read some.I'd also love some non-sci-fi ideas as mentioned in the suggestion."
Some first contact sci-fi that I really LOVE - The Sparrow, To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Semiosis, Remnant Population, Project Hail Mary... most of these other people have already mentioned!
Kaia Sonderby's books Failure to Communicate and Tone of Voice would work for First Contact - the main character's job is to learn how to communicate and work with species of sentient beings on new planets. They are technically sci-fi books but I would recommend them to anyone. The MC is on the autism spectrum, which adds a layer of interest beyond the typical sci-fi trope.
Thanks Hannah and Chrissy! Like I said I've read and enjoyed some sci-fi - I loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and plan to read more in the series. Some of your suggestions are exactly what I was looking for, should this prompt get in.
Angie wrote: "For non-sci-fi first contact... off the top of my head:* Books about the Spanish Conquest
* Books about British and French colonists in the New World
* Books about Europeans/Americans arriving i..."
Thanks Angie, Hannah, Kelly, dalex, chrissy,...
I really liked Euphoria about anthropologists in Papua New Guinea. (Loosely based on Margaret Meade).
For aliens, I really liked the Butler series (exogenisis/Lilith's brood), though it was intense reading. The first book is:Dawn
I also loved Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. The contact with the aliens was just one of the stories in the collection.
I also like Becky Chamber's books for this even though many of the planets have already gotten past the first contact stage. I would also recommendThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or A Closed and Common Orbit
I think some immigrant experience books would fit too.
I think I will upvote this with the idea that I 'might' find a new sci-fi book I love, but I have backups if I don't.
Hannah wrote: "One thing I like a lot about the first contact sci fi trope is that I think it's very accessible to people who might not consider themselves sci fi fans. First contact books are often more interest..."Great examples. I definitely like the books that reveal human nature. Is there a name for that subgenre of sci-fi? I saw the term social sci-fi once but I'm not sure this is it. It makes sense because the focus is on social sciences (communication, culture, anthropology, sociology, psychology, etc.)
Couldn't "First contact" also include books where someone is going to a new place... starting college, starting a new school, moving to another state, country, starting a new job, traveling somewhere new.
Ellie wrote: "I like the bees one, there are loads of books with bees or honeycomb patterns on the cover, plus many words and phrases are bee connected. That and first contact are the only ones I particularly ..."
For the atmospheric prompt, I think you can ignore the emotion option. (Similarly, I'll be ignoring the domestic thriller option of one of the woman prompts.) The idea was to read a book the evoked an atmosphere, feeling or mood. It it evokes an atmosphere, that's good.
First contact could also be a romance where the main characters don't know each other (e.g. meet cute), a book about an adopted child meeting their birth parent, or any other book where the characters don't know each other and form a relationship.
Nancy wrote: "First contact could also be a romance where the main characters don't know each other (e.g. meet cute), a book about an adopted child meeting their birth parent, or any other book where the charact..."Or when a child is adopted from another country, and they meet all these new people that look and sound different.
Edie wrote: "Couldn't "First contact" also include books where someone is going to a new place... starting college, starting a new school, moving to another state, country, starting a new job, traveling somewhe..."Yes, especially if they feel different for some reason (clothes, class, speech, etc.) Like a fish-out-of-waterl.
First impressions:10. Read an atmospheric, emotional, moody or evocative book
1. A book with a theme of courage or heroism
5. A book about a woman who changed history
3. A book about women overcoming systemic obstacles
4. A book about "First Contact"
2. A book that fits
13. A book related to one of the 22 Tarot Major Arcana cards
9. Read a book involving two of a kind
11. A book related to your favorite holiday
15. A book featuring a major life event
12. A book with nomads
6. A book connected to bees
14. A book with a musical instrument in the title or on the cover
7. A book involving an ancient artifact or structure
8. Read a genre chosen by Random Genre Generator
Nancy wrote: "First contact could also be a romance where the main characters don't know each other (e.g. meet cute), a book about an adopted child meeting their birth parent, or any other book where the charact..."I did hear a suggestion it could even be your first contact with the author.
Thomas wrote: "Nancy wrote: "First contact could also be a romance where the main characters don't know each other (e.g. meet cute), a book about an adopted child meeting their birth parent, or any other book whe..."Ohh I really like the first contact with an author interpretation. I was thinking of downvoting this prompt but that might sway me.
NancyJ wrote: "Hannah wrote: "One thing I like a lot about the first contact sci fi trope is that I think it's very accessible to people who might not consider themselves sci fi fans. First contact books are ofte..."Anthropological science fiction is a thing:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthrop..., which I think is getting at what you mean. Ursula Le Guin is a pretty quintessential example. I love this kind of sci fi, but I don't think it's a term that's used very frequently and I haven't heard any other term that people actually use!
I'm mostly putting this here so I don't forget due to sleep deprivation: I voted.I wound up going 4/4. My upvotes were ones that struck me as fun/engaging. I went with First Contact, ancient artifact or structure, random genre generator, and courage/heroism.
I voted 5 up and 3 down. I didn't vote either way on a woman who changed history since I have a few books that work. I personally wouldn't interpret it to include fiction unless it was historical fiction. For ancient artifact or structure, I'm thinking that an Arthurian legend would work (castles, holy grail) so I voted for it. Pillars of the Earth, Outlander, Planet of the Apes, non-fiction history are some other ideas.
Shannon wrote: "Let's try this again. For some reason, the links cut off when I copied and pasted them before. Here are the links for #5: A book about a woman who changed history.
Non-Fiction: This would be a gr..."
These biographies are excellent. This is the list I've been looking for. The Doctors Blackwell, Ada Lovelace. Constance Wilde. Pauli Murray, Zora Neale Hurston. Is there a listopia for this prompt yet? They changed the world.
I just saw that there's a novel about Rosalind Franklin coming out in January, Her Hidden Genius. However I do think I'd rather read the non-fiction version The Secret of Life: Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, and the Discovery of DNA's Double Helix, which I've heard focuses on Rosalind's contribution.I didn't vote either way on woman who changes history but I'd read about Rosalind or a time-travelling woman if it gets in.
I went 4/4 this time. I upvoted First Contact (I'm a sci-fi fiend), Random Genre Generator, Two of a kind and Tarot.I'd like to mention that when I suggested Random Genre Generator, I gave the link to the generator that I used but you can use any generator you want. You can use another online generator. If you want to assign genres to the numbers on a die and roll for a genre, you can do that. You can put strips of paper with genres on them in a bowl and pick one of those. You can have a friend pick a genre for you, whatever you want. :)
NancyJ wrote: "Is there a name for that subgenre of sci-fi?"First Contact is the subgenre.
Nancy wrote: "Any recs from that ginormous list?"Star's End by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Planetfall by Emma Newman
Radiomen by Eleanor Lerman
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler
Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman
Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon
City of Pearl by Karen Traviss
The Tommyknockers by Stephen King
4 up votes and 4 down for me. I voted for Heroism and neither of the women options as I think I can include a woman in the heroism option.
I'm only just realizing 2022 is most of the way done which is so exciting! Love how the list is shaking out so far.I went with 6 upvotes and really hope some combination of First Contact, Tarot, Twins/Two of a Kind, Ancient Artifact, Atmospheric and Prompt that Didn't Make it get on the final list!
Ellie wrote: "I just saw that there's a novel about Rosalind Franklin coming out in January, Her Hidden Genius. However I do think I'd rather read the non-fiction version [book:The Secret of Life..."I would like to read about her.
I changed my mind and went 6 up and 2 down.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Thanksgiving (other topics)Still Life (other topics)
The Beekeeper of Aleppo (other topics)
The History of Bees (other topics)
The Beekeeper of Aleppo (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Elizabeth Moon (other topics)Emma Newman (other topics)
Karen Joy Fowler (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Cassandra Rose Clarke (other topics)
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I highly recommend The W..."
That looks super, Edie, just added to my list. Here's the hyperlink if others are interested The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote.