[2022] Poll 16 Voting

[Anna]

Looking into some of the independent publishers list I find it quite interesting that many but not all of the authors published by independent publishers in for example US or UK is then given out by the major publishers here in Sweden. So then it becomes a mindgame for me which publisher to use, or to use the publisher for the edition I read.....

[Judy]

Voted
Upvotes are Independent publishers, Shot in the Dark, Earth Day, REM song, Exploration, government
Downvotes are Pastiche, Nursery Rhyme

[Anastasia]

I missed the last vote because I waited too long. Not this time.

There are some fun prompts this time. Hopefully they make it in. If not not they are definitely going on discard challenge.

[Reed]

Me too

[Thomas]

Out of curiosity if 3 qualified for the challenge this time would we have another poll for one prompt or would you only put two in?

[RachelG.]

Last year I did the read harder challenge and one of the prompts was a horror book by an indie press. I found it fairly challenging to find a book but read Return to Dyatlov Pass and loved it. I will probably read a different book by the same author if the publisher gets in.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Thomas, we would put all three in from this poll, and only the top one from the following poll would make it on the list. That actually happened last year, where we had one spot left to vote in.

[Pearl]

First impressions. The nominators made my choices very easy by listing many books that are already on my to-read or must-read lists.

Probable Upvotes:
A book related to "Soul" has the most books on my must read list.
A book related to the Song by R.E.M. has several good choices
A book with 22 or more letters in the title - ditto
A book related to Earth Day - ditto
A winner or nominee from the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards
A book about breaking barriers - bipoc, mental health and disability topics
A book with a theme of exploration. I'm swayed by the comments to vote for this. It fits a suggestion from my mentor as well.

Less interest:
Pastiche and a non-linear time line don't interest me very much any more. I'm getting tired of dual time lines.
An author named Elizabeth
Nursery Rhymes.

I look forward to hearing more about independent publishers.
ETA I'm staying neutral on independent publishers, and went 5/3.

[Angie]

Voted. There are some prompts I really like this time around. Still, I'm being picky since we are so late in the game. I went 3/5.

[Jillian]

Since we are nearing the end, I just up voted my favorite and down voted my 7 least favorite.

[Nancy]

I went 4 up, 4 down.

[Pearl]

I hope all the downvotes doesn't leave us with only Goodreads Choice for this poll.

[Pam]

I decided to vote for Adventure since I'm reading the Count of Monte Cristo right now and loving it. I also have lots more classics in the adventure genre to choose from.

[Alicia]

I'm with Angie and Jillian in that I'm pickier because we are down to so few prompts. I ended up 2/6, but wouldn't be too upset with whatever is chosen.

[Alicia]

Also, did this year go faster than last year?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yes! We got the final set of results on October 23rd last year during Poll 19 (plus a close calls poll). We are on pace to finish on October 10th with Poll 17 this year (assuming we don't get 4 results in this batch). It's a solid two weeks earlier than last year.

[Nancy]

I'm kind of glad, I remember last year having several polls with only one winner and it seemed to take forever. Having 3 multi-week winners also sped things up this year.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Agreed, Nancy. The multi-weeks really cut down on polls we needed, plus we haven't had many polls with only one winner. I'm glad it's ending a bit earlier... most people start to get burnt out when we get into October (that's why we have had the close calls poll in the past).

[Alicia]

I agree, last year felt really long and this year feels just right! A little Goldilocks vibe!

[Edie]

Emily wrote: "Nadine, I think exploration could be a bit wider than adventure... exploration of your heritage, exploration of yourself, exploration of history, exploration of religious/philosophical beliefs... I..."

I would think books related to scientific innovation also fit here.

[Martha]

I voted 7 up and 1 down. I'm hoping we get 4 winners and that this will be our last poll.

[Jill]

4 up and 4 down again for me. It was really a case of not wanting 4. I don’t know REM. Earth day comes around every year. I’ve read Shackleton, lately, and really don’t feel like an adventure, as I would just like to get back to something familiar next year, after 2 years of the pandemic. I might feel differently and regret this next year but it is how I feel now.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Martha wrote: "I voted 7 up and 1 down. I'm hoping we get 4 winners and that this will be our last poll."

I also voted for 7. I like how some people who don’t necessarily discuss on Wild Discussion show up with great unexpected ideas.

[Sam]

I either voted 6 up 2 down or 7 up and 1 down, can't remember. But I liked this group of prompts and hope this is the penultimate or final poll!

[Kendra]

I don't like the Pastiche prompt, but most of the others are fine. I really hope the Goodreads Choice award makes it this time because I always make a point of trying to go through the lists. I know they're just a popularity thing, but I figure a book that is popular with readers is a better bet than someone who judges it on 'artistic' merit. It's not always, but there's usually a few books that I haven't heard of before that look good.

[Irene]

I love how unique the pastiche prompt is, but if it gets in, I'd probably go by the original definition (no retellings unless the writing style itself actually imitates/emulates the original author's writing) which would make it a very difficult prompt. But then again, I'm at the point where I'd like at least one difficult prompt for next year's challenge.

Probable downvotes:
I've never heard of R.E.M. or the song, so that's probably going to be a downvote. I dislike the character in government prompt since it's a freebie for me (especially since it's not a main character but just any character). I had a really hard time with the adventure book in one of the seasonal challenges, but I'd prefer it to exploration, which seems like a complete freebie if it includes adventure plus exploration of self, exploration of new ideas, physical exploration, etc.

On the fence about 22+ letters (another title prompt, but I like the 2022 connection) and a shot in the dark (seems like a mystery book, prompt but broader, but I like the phrase).

[Jill]

I have a book titled A Shot in the Dark

[dalex]

As much as I like the idea of a prompt that focuses on indie publishers I think this one is way too broad. You have to figure out if a publisher is or is not an indie publisher and, once you've determined that, you have to pick a book from a rather large number of choices. If it gets in I'll just use the list of publishers from the previously suggested prompt (but honestly I hope it doesn't make the list).

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

dalex wrote: "As much as I like the idea of a prompt that focuses on indie publishers I think this one is way too broad. You have to figure out if a publisher is or is not an indie publisher and, once you've det..."

We'd want to make an extensive Listopia to help people out with it.

[KP]

Irene wrote: "I love how unique the pastiche prompt is, but if it gets in, I'd probably go by the original definition (no retellings unless the writing style itself actually imitates/emulates the original author..."

I wasn't going to vote for the pastiche because I can only think of one book (about Sherlock Holmes).

If you look at the lyrics for the song you might like find something that connects with you. I joined late, and I have some thrillers this year that don't have good prompts. That's one reason I like the R.E.M. song. It has uniforms and patriotic words for a war book or CIA thriller. It also has words that remind me of cozy mysteries, family parties, or romance discussions. I'll vote for yours if you vote for mine. (Never mind, I'm sure that's against the rules.)

[Charlsa]

Pam wrote: "I decided to vote for Adventure since I'm reading the Count of Monte Cristo right now and loving it. I also have lots more classics in the adventure genre to choose from."

Pam, The Count of Monte Cristo is a great book. I'd ready all 1,200+ pages again.

[Dubhease]

KP wrote: "That's one reason I like the R.E.M. song. It has uniforms and patriotic words for a war book or CIA thriller. It also has words that remind me of cozy mysteries, family parties, or romance discussions."

If REM gets in, I know what book I'm reading. If it doesn't I'll have to cram it into some other prompt. I hate when I get invested in a prompt that might not win.

[Nancy]

I would hope that those of you who aren't voting for the REM song just because you've never head of them have at least looked at the lyrics. There are a lot of options for it.

Dubhease what book do you have in mind for it? And I know how you feel about getting invested in a prompt that might not win.

[Jillian]

Dubhease, unless you have already picked a prompt there is the prompt where you get to pick a prompt that did not make it onto the list.

I always find there are so many interesting prompts that don't make it.

[NancyJ]

Nancy wrote: "I would hope that those of you who aren't voting for the REM song just because you've never head of them have at least looked at the lyrics. There are a lot of options for it.

Dubhease what book d..."

Nancy I was just about to say the same thing - please look at the lyrics. Then I saw your comment, and I was surprised to see that I already said it. But it wasn't me. Does that ever happen to you? And we don't even have a common name.

[Dubhease]

Nancy wrote: "I would hope that those of you who aren't voting for the REM song just because you've never head of them have at least looked at the lyrics. There are a lot of options for it.

Dubhease what book d..."

Two years ago, I started and DNF the Gulag Archipelago. I was going to stick it under the song because of both Leonard Brezhnev (Communist Russia) and book burning (the book was a banned book) I regret giving up on it, even though it's a hard read.

If that prompt doesn't get in, I'll stick it under historical fiction, even though it isn't fiction.

[Thomas]

We do have the “ favourite unsuccessful prompt option”

[°~Amy~°]

Nancy wrote: "I would hope that those of you who aren't voting for the REM song just because you've never head of them have at least looked at the lyrics. There are a lot of options for it.

Dubhease what book d..."

I am one that doesn't like the song. I know all the words to the song and looked at the lyrics to be sure but still downvoted it. There are a lot of words sure, but none that really inspire me to read anything other than the dystopian ("end of the world"). Disliking a prompt and/or downvoting it doesn't necessarily mean the voters are uninformed.

[NancyJ]

Amy, some people said they didn't know the song, that's all. No offense to anyone was meant, I'm sure.

[Nancy]

Absolutely! At least two people said they weren't voting because they didn't know the song or had never heard of the group. I totally understand not voting if you know the song or looked at the lyrics and decided you didn't like the prompt but I was encouraging those who weren't familiar with it to at least check it out before voting against it.

[Jill]

I don’t know the group or the song. Looking at the lyrics, I thought most of them were covered by the prompts we already had, and did not interest me.

[Irene]

I think never having heard of something associated with a prompt is a valid reason to not vote for it since you have no personal connection or interest in it. I don’t want a song prompt unless it’s a song I actively love like Bohemian Rhapsody. But I did look at the lyrics just to brainstorm options for if it did get through.